By Michael White
Contributing Writer
With a brand new school year starting, St. Bonaventure University is holding a mock dorm fire to educate those of the reality of what can cause a dorm room fire and informing students of what is allowed to be inside their dorm rooms as a result.
There will be a mock dorm fire demonstration held Sept. 27 at 7 p.m. on the lawn of Devereux Hall for students to observe how quickly a fire can occur inside their dorms from unexpected items.
The mock fire is to inform students of the many dangers that certain items inside their dorms can cause and how a fire can easily spread inside a cluttered room.
“(The cause of the mock fire) is to raise awareness of exactly how fast someone’s life can be ruined forever,” said Ralph Aloia, St. Bonaventure University fire safety officer, in a Sept. 21, 2010 interview with the Olean Times Herald article, referring to the 2010 Bona Burn.
This year’s mock dorm fire will also “…raise awareness about the university’s fire safety policies and demonstrate the dangers of violating them,” said Vito Czyz, director of safety and security. “The fire will hypothetically occur with an overloaded extension cord, which violates residence hall policy. We are still working on this part of the drill.”
This is a change from the 2010 Bona Burn, where the fire consumed the dorm room in just 2 minutes and 35 seconds when a spilt shot that was on fire was knocked over, an unnamed fire fighter announced to the crowd during the event.
The university maintenance crew will construct the 64-square-foot, single structure mock dorm. Czyz said the mock dorm room will also display used furniture from the housekeeping department and other common items to help the structure resemble an actual dorm room..
Czyz said the Allegany Fire Department will oversee the event. To reassure there will be no accidental fires around campus or any sort of medical incidents with spectators, the SBU MERT (Medical Emergency Response Team) team will also be on standby.
