Lautenberg-Pascrell Bill Requiring Better Information About Fire Safety On College Campuses Becomes Law, USA

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 19 Aug 2008 - 2:00 PDT

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Last week, legislation authored by U.S. Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-08) to provide students and families with crucial fire safety records of the nation's colleges and universities was signed into law by the President. The Lautenberg-Pascrell bill was included as part of a larger higher education package.

Since 1990, colleges and universities have been publishing crime statistics on campus thefts, assaults, and sexual and capital crimes, but fire-related incidents have until now not been required to be made public.

"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. I am glad our bill is now law so we can finally give the public the information it needs to evaluate fire safety at colleges and universities," Sen. Lautenberg said.

"I am pleased that our work to close a dangerous public safety loophole at college campuses all over the nation has finally paid off. If these common sense fire safety disclosure requirements were in place years ago, lives may have been saved and perhaps fewer families and classmates would have experienced the horrific shock and pain that overwhelmed the Seton Hall community in 2000," stated Rep. Pascrell.

Sen. Lautenberg and Rep. Pascrell were joined in applauding the bill's enactment into law by Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), the lead co-sponsor of the Senate bill.

"College students should be thinking about their futures and not worried about losing their lives," said Sen. Menendez. "We want to keep them safe and to avoid catastrophic tragedies like the one we experienced in New Jersey. It is important to arm them with all of the information we can so students and their families can make informed choices as to which colleges and universities are safest."

The Lautenberg-Pascrell measure, the Campus Fire Safety Right-to-Know Act (S. 354 and H.R. 354), requires campus fire safety information to be made public and provides a powerful incentive for colleges and universities to voluntarily upgrade their safety systems. The law also calls for:

- detailed reports on the number of actual fires in each on-campus student housing facility as well as information on deaths, injuries and structural damage to facilities over the previous two years;

- colleges and universities to maintain a log of all campus fires and make this information available to the public;

- reports on fire safety education and training provided to students, faculty and staff; and

- the Secretary of Education to identify best practices for campus fire safety.

Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg