[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 53 (Wednesday, April 25, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Page S3924]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. TORRICELLI (for himself and Mr. Corzine):
  S. 773. A bill to provide for disclosure of fire safety standards and 
measures with respect to campus buildings, and for other purposes; to 
the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Mr. TORRICELLI. Mr. President, today I rise to introduce the Campus 
Fire Safety Right-to-Know Act so that we can move forward in protecting 
our children at our colleges and universities. It is an unfortunate 
reality that it often takes great tragedies to highlight 
vulnerabilities in our laws.
  On January 19, 2000, several New Jersey families experienced an 
unimaginable tragedy. A fire in a freshman college dormitory killed 3 
students and injured 62 others. Investigations into the fire revealed 
that the dorm was not equipped with a sprinkler system, which could 
have saved lives. In addition, during that fatal evening, many students 
delayed leaving the building because they assumed it was a false alarm, 
an all too common occurrence.
  On March 19, 2000, a fire broke out at a fraternity house at a 
Pennsylvania university, killing three students. This was not the first 
fire at that fraternity house, in 1994, five students were killed in a 
fraternity house fire.
  On June 8, 2000, a student was killed in an early morning fraternity 
house fire at an Illinois University. Local authorities said the 
building was not protected with an automatic fire sprinkler system.
  And, as recently as April 1, 2001, a fire in a residence hall at a 
New Hampshire college forced 100 students out of the building and 
seriously damaged at least two apartments. This was the second fire to 
occur at a residence hall at that college within two months.
  This is a national crisis that endangers our children's lives.
  Although the average number of college residence fires dropped 10 
percent in the last decade, an average of 66 students still are injured 
in campus fires in dorms, and fraternity and sorority houses. In the 11 
deadly campus fires between 1900 and 1997, an average of two people 
died in each.
  The National Fire Protection Association reports that 72 percent of 
dorms, and fraternity and sorority houses that suffer fires are not 
equipped with life saving sprinkler systems, even though sprinklers are 
proven to cut by up to two-thirds the risks of death and property 
damage in fires.
  I have a proposal that will help make university housing safer. The 
Campus Fire Safety Right to Know Act would highlight the issue of 
campus fire safety by requiring colleges and universities to provide 
annual reports that explains fire policies, frequency of false alarms, 
and whether dorms are equipped with sprinkler systems.
  These reports would be straight-forward and based on the types of 
reporting that many campuses already do.
  Colleges and universities could use these reports to highlight their 
successes and progress with campus fire safety. They would be, in part, 
a marketing tool to attract students and families.
  The reports would also bring greater awareness about campus fire 
safety to schools that have not made progress, and encourage them to 
take action.
  And, the reports would be a resource for students and their families, 
so that they know whether their dorms are fire safe and can work with 
their schools to improve fire safety.
  My bill is supported by universities in my State, Seton Hall, Rutgers 
and Princeton, and is also endorsed by the National Fire Protection 
Association, the National Safety Council, and College Parents of 
America.
  We need to pass this measure so that we can ensure that the tragedies 
in New Jersey, Illinois, and Pennsylvania are the last of their kinds.
                                 ______