NJ lawmakers announce new fire safety program for college students
20 years after Seton Hall fire, NJ lawmakers announce new fire safety program for college students
Two decades after the fire at Seton Hall that left three students dead and injured more than 50, lawmakers in New Jersey have announced a new program to increase fire safety awareness among college students.
NEW JERSEY - On January 19, 2000, an early-morning fire tore through a residential hall on the campus of Seton Hall University, killing three students and injuring more than 50.
Twenty years later, Reps. Bill Pascrell and Donald Payne, Jr. announced the Campus Fire Safety Education Act, a new grant program that will increase fire safety awareness among college students, help improve their fire training and save lives.
“They should have that education in the back of their minds, just in case something does happen,” said Shawn Simons, a survivor of the 2000 fire.
The program would require clear signage for safe exits, push for fire drills and for older campus buildings without sprinklers to have them.