Published on Brock University (http://www.brocku.ca)
Brock University teams up to ensure students ‘know fire’
Media release
A fire safety awareness campaign for students
If you have a fire extinguisher in your home, learn how to use it properly. Cooking is the No. 1 cause of home fires. Many fire deaths are caused by people attempting to cook or smoke while under the influence of alcohol. Only working smoke alarms save lives.
These are some of the key messages that Brock University and its partners will be driving home to university- and college-aged students this week as it rolls out a digital media fire safety campaign as part of Fire Prevention Week in Canada.
Brock, Niagara College and Niagara’s regional fire chiefs have teamed up to develop an online information tool to raise fire safety awareness among young adults aged 18 to 24 — one of the most difficult age groups to reach for injury prevention programs.
The “Know Fire” campaign features six online videos and a customized interactive website — knowfire.ca — which target post-secondary students.
• Oct. 4 to 10, 2009 is Fire Prevention Week in Canada.
• Know Fire is a made-in-Niagara fire safety and prevention program designed to educate students using multi-media in a format that resonates with the 18 to 24-year-old student demographic.
• “Canned” programs from the Ontario Fire Marshal’s office have been thoroughly researched and developed for elementary aged children and seniors; however there were none specifically designed for the 18 to 24 year-old group.
• This significant gap in the continuum of fire safety education is what knowfire.ca was designed to address.
• This educational campaign uses stylized video content and direct-to-web marketing to deliver fire safety messaging to the 18 to 24 age demographic, particularly university and college students.
• The primary format is a series of six 1 to 2-minute dramatic high-quality videos, accompanied by a website, print materials and workshops.
• The idea was generated as a result of a fire in late 2008, during which a group of Brock University students living off campus narrowly escaped. A working smoke detector saved their lives.
• Since that fire, two other significant fires occurred at Ontario universities — one at McMaster University in Hamilton that caused massive damage and the semi-permanent evacuation of an entire student residence, and another at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo that also caused significant damage and resulted in the death of one student.
• This past summer, a group of Niagara College and Brock students living together in an off campus apartment escaped a serious fire that left them homeless.
• Knowfire.ca is a cooperative project made possible through the contributions of the following partners: Brock University, Niagara College, Niagara Regional Fire Chiefs Association, Ontario Municipal Fire Prevention Officers Association – Niagara Chapter and Fourgrounds Media Inc.
• For more information on the Know Fire program, visit knowfire.ca
For more information, please contact:
• Bradley Clarke, manager, Student/Community Outreach, Brock University, 905-688-5550 x4059; bclarke@brocku.ca
• Brigitte Chiki, director, Student Services, Niagara College, 905-735-2211 x7783; bchiki@niagaracollege.ca
• Joseph Zambito, Assistant Fire Chief, Niagara-On-The-Lake, Ont., 905-468-3266; jzambito@notl.org
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Source URL: http://www.brocku.ca/news/5564