In observance of Fire Safety Week, SUNY Potsdam and Clarkson University Colleges hosted two separate events on their campuses to draw attention to both colleges students the risk and prevention of fire on college campuses.

The events was a simulated dorm fire staged by the Potsdam Fire Department in conjunction with the two colleges Health and Safety Teams and the Officer of Fire Prevention and Control. The simulated dorm, or “pod,” was a wooden 8X8 box which was ‘mocked’ as a typical dorm room you would see on campus. It was furnished with a bed, chairs, some college posters hanging on the wall and a few papers scattered around the floor. A smoke detector was also stationed higher in the ceiling.

The clock started when a member of the Potsdam Fire Department set a few papers that were located in a waste paper basket in the corner of the room alight. The spoke person for the colleges explained, “It takes about 30 seconds for a fire to double in size.” At 22 seconds the smoke detector sounded. After a minute, the fire began climbing up the walls; the temperatures at the ceiling were estimated to reach at least 200 degrees. At two minutes, the smoke detector melted. At three minutes, the blaze became an inferno; the pod itself could not be seen behind the wall of fire. At four minutes, the fire department extinguished the fire. Assistant Chief D. Rose was present and told students that Potsdam Fire Departments best response time to SUNY Potsdam or Clarkson campus is between five and 10 minutes.

All that remained of the dorm were charred skeletons of the furniture and blackened walls. The members of the Potsdam Fire Department hope these ‘mock dorm burn’ presentations so how quick and destructive fire actually is. Four minutes, and the dorm was completely engulfed!