Passport to Fire Safety: Program to protect students from fire dangers

"Passport to Fire Safety"!! Guessing, how can a passport protect students from fire dangers???

A new program called 'Passport to Fire Safety' aims to improvise the safety measures of US students studying abroad. It equips students with portable fire safety products such as smoke alarms, carbon monoxide (CO) alarms and escape ladders.

The program was introduced at a campus fire forum, the annual conference of the Centre for Campus Fire Safety.

According to source, this Passport to Fire Safety is led by the combination of organisations, specially dedicated to protecting students abroad including the centre for Campus Fire Safety. Kidde Fire Safety and George Washington University are also a part of this combination.

The initiative was taken after, there were no working smoke alarms in the residential fire that killed three other exchange students and seriously injured dozens of other students.

Paul. D. Martin, president of the Centre for Campus Fire Safety says, "The program is important, because more students are crossing borders than ever before. In fact, the Institute of International Education reports approximately 2,80,000 US students studied abroad in the year 2012. And the numbers are expected to increase in coming years."

"For many college students, the opportunity to study abroad is one of their greatest adventures. As preparation often centres on personal safety and cultural differences, students, parents and universities may overlook the risk of fires in countries where smoke alarms and other fire safety devices may not be present or up-to-date, " he added.

He further explained, "The 'Passport to Fire Safety' will be of benefit in various ways, such as:

• Increase students awareness of fire prevention methods,
• Provide students with an enhanced level of standardised protection while living and studying abroad,
• Help students and universities navigate differing fire safety standards differ drastically from country to country and
• Get the appropriate fire safety products in the right place at the right time.

However, the program is likely to be up and running by January 1, 2014 onwards.