Campus Fire Safety Month (2009)

Campus Fire Safety Month

WHEREAS,  recent student housing fires around the nation have tragically cut short the lives of some of the youth of our great country; and                                   

WHEREAS,  since January 2000, at least 129 people, including students, parents, and children have died in campus-related fires; and

WHEREAS,  a majority of U.S. college students live in off-campus housing, and nearly 80 percent of these deaths have occurred in such dwellings; and

WHEREAS,  it is recognized that automatic fire sprinkler systems are a highly effective method of controlling or extinguishing a fire in its early stages, protecting the lives of its building’s occupants; and
    
WHEREAS,  a number of fatal fires have occurred in buildings where the fire safety systems have been compromised or disabled by the occupants; and

WHEREAS,  fire safety education serves as a powerful tool in the effort to decrease the occurrence of fires as well as to reducing the resulting loss of life and property damage; and

WHEREAS,  Campus Fire Safety Month provides our students as well as all Virginians with the opportunity to increase their knowledge and understanding of the importance of fire safety behavior and the fundamental role it plays in ensuring their safety;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Timothy M. Kaine, do hereby recognize September 2009 as CAMPUS FIRE SAFETY MONTH, and I call this observance to the attention of all our citizens.