Students get a taste of filmmaking for safety In 2010, EHS Fire Safety asked UNC RAMs (Resident Advisor

Mentors) to put their pizza boxes in the oven, leave a pot of

grease on the stove and walk away, and set the microwave for 10

minutes when making popcorn! We asked them to put their

cheese sandwiches in the toaster and sleep through a fire alarm!

We asked them to hang their laundry from a fire sprinkler! Then,

we showed photographic evidence of these appalling behaviors to

170 of their closest acquaintances!

Safe Passages supports safety activities at UNC

Front Row: Dan Bobrowski, Adrienne Jones, Elizabeth Minor, Deju Wooden,

Brittany Tharrington, Sarah Colwell

Back Row: Emily Miller, Omar Currie, Phil Montanez, Wyt Ratanacharoensiri,

Jeffrey Veale Jr. , Latrecia Allen, Pilar Plater

Surprisingly, the above scenarios were actual causes of fire

alarms in Residence Halls from August 2009 – May 2010. During

that 10-month period, the Chapel Hill Fire Department responded

to 272 cooking incidents: 67 smoke detector activations from

shower steam and hair dryers, 7 maliciously pulled fire alarms, 9

cigarette smoking activations and other unauthorized materials,

and 4 actual fires. At an approximate cost to the Fire Department

of $1000 per fire call, we realized the tremendous opportunity to

enhance student safety and reduce costs.

EHS provides annual fire safety training to new and returning

(RA’s) during an intensive orientation each August. RAs work to

create a sense of individual responsibility. They also encourage op-

portunities for learning, growth, friendship and socialization for stu-

dents. We, at Fire Safety, think this translates into bonus positive

outgrowth for the campus as a whole.

This year, we tapped into the creative energy of some of the

Community Directors (CD’s) and RAMs. While the RAMs serve in

the Resident Advisor role, they also act as a leader amongst the

RAs in each community. We asked them to participate as writers

and actors in re-creating actual fire response scenarios that we

filmed, and we integrated the scenarios into four 20-minute

PowerPoint training sessions used for the orientation.

The project got underway on a warm August day in Spencer

Residence Hall. About 20 RAMs crowded into the kitchen area.

Fire Safety described actual fire response incidents and provided

general guidance on how the scenarios should be played out. Af-

ter unpacking cooking utensils, blankets, pizza boxes, and other

props, we left things up to the creativity of the 7 teams to come

up with the scripts and acting skills. Our resident EHS cinematog-

rapher filmed the skits and later completed the editing. The

RAMs’ energy and laughter during the filming was contagious, and

it was a great way for them to foster teamwork and expand their

leadership skills.

The final step of the process was to add the videos into a pres-

entation that was a combination of Q&A, discussion, and explana-

tion of the costs of students burning their popcorn and other nui-

sance alarms. The finished product was quite successful. We gave

the presentation 4 times, using the videos to springboard into dis-

cussion. Audience participation was very enthusiastic, and atten-

dees told us after the training that they really enjoyed the videos.

It was entertaining to see the RAs’ reactions when they saw them-

selves or their teammates on “the big screen”.

After the presentations were done, Fire Safety had requests

from CTOPS and Public Safety to show this presentation during

future training events. We also received comments from RA’s and

CD’s who really had no idea that their small actions had such a big

impact on campus safety. We’re looking forward to additional co-

operative training efforts between EHS and Housing & Residential

Education.

EHS CHECK YOUR SAFETY KNOWLEDGE:

1. Do you know the purpose of fire pull stations?

Click for answer 1

2. It’s ok to store small items in an exit, right?

Click for answer 2

3. Do you know the purpose of each type of fire extinguisher?

Click for answer 3

4. Which electrical appliances are not allowed on campus?

Click for answer 4

5. What are the official fire procedures on campus?

Click for answer 5

Left to Right Front Row: Kelly Medlin, Becky Carter, Marybeth Bundy, Christie Hinson & Shadi

Eskaf

2nd Row: Sean Downing, Kelley O’Brien, Jessica O’Sullivan, Cindy Lee, Susan Lynch, Anna

Terry & Julie Seger

3rd Row: Marsha Lobacz, Faith Thompson, Beth Graves, Missy Underwood, Gail Wilkins &

Peggy Cotton

Back Row: Alex Hess, Kevin Justice, Tom Thornburg, Chris Toenes, Fred Crews, Brian New-

port & Brad Bednar

School of Government Emergency Coordinator Staff

*Unattended cooking is dangerous. Stay close to the

stove and be prepared by following this advice.

*Never move a pan that is on fire. Put a lid on it, let it burn out,

before you move it.

*Never cook food with oil, bacon grease or butter at high tem-

peratures. Different oils will smoke and ignite at different temps!

*Keep top of stove clutter-free. Clean stove top including burners

often.

*Don’t let combustible items like pizza boxes come into contact

with heat, like in the oven.

*Cook popcorn in the microwave using the popcorn setting, don’t

walk away! (popcorn smoke calls summon the fire department

more often than any other UNC call!)

Sammy’s story:

We all know the basics of fire safety. If there is a fire, we know to

sound the alarm and leave the building, or otherwise phone the fire

department. We know leaving heat sources active, in our absence,

such as cooking, can cause fires. It’s common sense, right? What else

is there to know? Unfortunately, common sense can be overruled by a

sense of invincibility that justifies carelessness, when that little voice

declares, “I’m only going to be gone for a minute, what could possibly

happen?” As a student, I am quite familiar with this dangerous men-

tality.

Cooking without a kitchen nearby while living in a residence hall re-

quires elevated levels of creativity and ingenuity. I never truly appreci-

ated the merits of a personal kitchen until I found myself using the lid

of a storage container as a tray with which to carry precariously bal-

anced cooking supplies down a flight of stairs to the community

kitchen.

One time in particular, I decided to creatively use the time it took to

cook some Ramen noodles by washing a pile of neglected dishes while

waiting for water to boil. With a pot of water warming on the stove, I

discovered I had forgotten my dish soap upstairs in my room. I turned

to my pot of water on the stove thinking, “This water is nowhere near

boiling, I could just nip upstairs and grab my soap. What could hap-

pen?”

“Nothing could happen or anything could happen.”

Two days working in the Fire Safety department of EHS had taught me

enough to switch off the stove before I ran back upstairs.

Now is when our responsibility begins. We must first disregard this

feeling of invincibility that creates a false sense of security. Next, we

must accept responsibility for safety. Each and every one of us.

The faculty teaches the students, the staff runs the university, and the

students learn. While each group has its own unique focus, everyone

has the ability to shoulder the responsibilities of campus safety.

School of Government Facility Director & Emergency Coordinator, Sean Down-ing-“You react to training in real life situations (no matter where you are).”

Sean Downing, Facilities Director for the Knapp-

Sanders Building of the School of Government is an ad-

vocate of safety awareness and education. “It may seem like

taking such precautions is a bit extreme for everyday life,

but our performance at work reflects our preparation for

emergencies everywhere. Maybe nothing will happen on

campus that will necessitate the use of emergency protocol,

but that doesn’t mean the same fire safety skills cannot be

used elsewhere. As Downing says, “you react to training in

real life situations (no matter where you are).”

Downing coordinates a group of 150 staff and faculty mem-

bers who are responsible for providing safety to 12,000 visi-

tors each year. They have implemented Emergency Medical

training, fire drills, extinguisher training, and regular Fire

Marshal walk-thru’s to gain a better understanding of stor-

age issues, proper control of exit corridors and other fire

safety topics. Recently, the SOG hosted a mock sprinkler

fire demonstration with live fire and sprinkler action.

For the next issue, we will continue to examine the safety team

at the School of Government and discuss how you can pull to-

gether a safety team for your group or department.

Environment, Health and Safety Newsletter - Spring 2011

Sammy’s work at EHS includes testing fire alarms, conducting interviews

such as this one with Sean Downing with the School of Government, cre-

ating newsletters, Emergency Coordinator database updates, designing

fire drill hand-outs and teaching extinguisher classes.

AM I RESPONSIBLE? A perspective by Sammy Bauer-EHS Work Study Student

Safe Passages

Editor in Chief-Kitty Lynn- kitty@unc.edu

Contributors–Janet Clarke-

jlclarke@email.unc.edu, Sammy Bauer

Environment, Health & Safety 1120 Estes

Drive Ext. CB 1650, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-

1650

T 919-962-5507 F 919-962-0227

Environment, Health & Safety

Emergency Coordinator Training