It’s a bizarre coincidence, that yesterday’s fire at the Montclair State University student dorm occurred the same day legislation was passed requiring colleges and universities to provide prospective and current students with fire safety information on campuses.  Baristanet received a press release from Congressman Bill Pascrell’s chief of staff, Ben Rich, Announcing that H.R. 2637, the “Campus Fire Safety Right To Know Act” passed yesterday afternoon on the House floor. 

Pascrell first introduced this legislation to the 106th Congress, following the tragic fire at Seton Hall University on January 19, 2000, which killed 3 students and injured more than 50 others:

“The common sense fire safety disclosure requirements passed today should have been in place many years ago," stated Pascrell, a longtime champion on fire safety issues.  "The actions of Congress will prevent countless families from experiencing the devastation that the families of Seton Hall had to endure after the tragic fires in 2000.  "

The Pascrell legislation would require campus fire safety information to be made public, and would provide a powerful incentive for colleges and universities to voluntarily upgrade their safety systems. Universities and colleges would also be required to provide statistics on the number of actual fires in each residence hall, including information on deaths, injuries, and structural damage over the previous two years.

March 31, 2006 in Current Affairs | Permalink