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WASHINGTON— U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-08) today praised inclusion of the Campus Fire Safety Right-to-Know Act in the Higher Education Opportunity Act, which was approved in the House by a vote of 380-49. Pascrell originally introduced the Campus Fire Safety Right-to-Know Act in 2000 following the tragic Seton Hall University campus fire which killed three students and injured fifty others. Senator Frank Lautenberg is the sponsor of the legislation in the Senate, where it is expected to be approved this week.
“I applaud the House of Representatives for prioritizing campus fire safety in the Higher Education Opportunity Act,” stated Pascrell. “Campus fires have taken the lives of 129 people across the country since 2000, including 3 in the tragic Seton Hall University fire. If the common sense fire safety disclosure requirements in this legislation were in place years ago, many lives may have been saved. Fewer families and classmates may have had to experience the horrific shock and pain that overwhelmed the Seton Hall community eight years ago.”
“There is safety in information. Parents and students need to know that college campuses are doing all they can to keep students safe. We must take every step possible to prevent a tragedy like the Seton Hall fire from ever happening again. The House’s passage of our bill today brings us one step closer to giving the public the information it needs to evaluate fire safety at colleges and universities,” Sen. Lautenberg said.
An important first step in fire safety, the Campus Fire Safety Right to Know Act amends the Higher Education Act to require colleges and universities to provide prospective and current students with fire safety information on campuses. The legislation also authorizes a report from the Secretary of Education to Congress on the extent of the national problem and possible solutions. It utilizes the same procedure that requires schools to disclose crime statistics and other safety information.
Specifically, the legislation requires:
- A fire safety report distributed by the institution of higher learning with statistics concerning the following in each on-campus student housing facility during the most recent calendar year for which data are available:
- A description of each on-campus student housing facility fire safety system, including the fire sprinkler system;
- The number of regular mandatory supervised fire drills;
- Policies or rules on portable electrical appliances, smoking, and open flames (such as candles), procedures for evacuation, and policies regarding fire safety education and training programs provided to students, faculty, and staff;
- Plans for future improvements in fire safety, if determined necessary by such institution.
“With campus fires having claimed the lives of 18 people in this academic year alone, it is critical that the federal government immediately enact proper safeguards” stated Pascrell. “I thank Senator Lautenberg for leading our effort in the Senate to implement these basic public safety standards, and urge my Senate colleagues to move this bill to the President’s desk so that we can further improve America’s college campuses,” stated Pascrell.
“I would also like to recognize the dedication of Campus Firewatch and the Center for Campus Fire Safety over the last 8 years to help provide information, advocate our cause and organize the support Senator Lautenberg and I needed to move this legislation through Congress,” concluded Pascrell.
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