News
"Campus Fire Safety Right-to-Know" language added
to
College Access and Opportunity Act
The House Committee on Education and the Workforce voted to add the "Campus
Fire Safety Right-to-Know" bill as an amendment to H.R. 609, the "College
Access and Opportunity Act." U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews (D-NJ-01), along with
Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY-04) and Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC-02), worked to ensure
the amendment was adopted in a 35-14 bipartisan vote.
This legislation is supported by a number of fire safety organizations, including
the Center for Campus Fire Safety and several Congressional
Fire Services Institute member organizations, including the
International Code Council.
"The International Code Council supports legislation
to make campus buildings safer and reduce student deaths,"
said International Code Council CEO James Lee Witt. "When
families send their kids off to college they need to know
that they are living and learning in buildings that are safe."
The Campus Fire Safety legislation (H.R. 2637) was originally sponsored by
Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ-08) in the wake of Seton Hall's dormitory fire on January
19, 2000. That fire tragically killed three students and injured over 50 others.
The legislation requires colleges and universities receiving federal funds to
make fire safety information on campuses universally accessible. It would also
require the Secretary of Education to submit a report to Congress analyzing the
current status of fire safety systems on campuses and recommending possible solutions
to problems that are uncovered in the analysis.
To date, only 35% of dormitories and fraternity/sorority houses that suffer
fires were found to be equipped with sprinkler systems. There
have been 75 fire fatalities in student housing since January
2000. During the past academic year, 11 people have died in
student housing fires. Through this requirement for disclosure
of fire safety on such information, champions of this legislation
hope to provide colleges and universities a powerful incentive
to voluntarily upgrade fire safety systems.
For more information about the "Campus Fire Safety Right-to-Know"
language and the College Access and Opportunity Act, contact or
call 1-888-ICC-SAFE
(422-7233), x6243.
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