Date change: Live burn demonstration, Fire Safety Day now Oct. 28

(Due to the inclement weather forecast, Fire Safety Day activities have been rescheduled from Wednesday to Thursday.)

If you woke to smoke and fire in your residence hall or house, how would you respond?

To get a sense of what that experience might be like, attend Fire Safety Day on Thursday Oct. 28 in the grassy space between Garcelon Field and Bardwell Street. Activities begin at 11 a.m.

Fire safety information will be provided by the Bates College Environmental Health and Safety Department.  T-shirts and safety-related gifts will be available to early attendees and activitiy participants, until supplies run out.  Printed materials will be available to everyone.

A live burn demonstration of a simulated residence hall room will show how quickly a fire spreads and generates huge volumes of smoke.

At 11:30 a.m. there will be a live burn demonstration of a simulated fully decorated residence hall room.  Firefighters will be on hand to answer questions and put out the fire after participants see how quickly a fire spreads and generates huge volumes of smoke.

A smoke-filled trailer (theatrical smoke) will allow participants to experience what it is like to find their way through a smoke-filled space.

An obstacle course will be set up for participants to try to negotiate while wearing special impaired-vision glasses which simulate various levels of intoxication.

The events will be filmed and participants will be interviewed so that a safety training film can be created for use in the future.

The event is open to all members of the Bates community.

The Lewiston Fire Department, members of student government and Human Resources staff will be manning tables and supervising the activities.

The activities are organized by the Bates College Environmental Health and Safety Department, and paid for with funds awarded in a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant to the College. Bates Environmental Health and Safety Specialist Jim Guzelian noted that the Fire Safety Day activities are “enthusiastically supported” by the Lewiston Fire Department.