Campus Fire and Security

The poor college students didn't know what they were in for when they returned from break.Thieves broke in and they weren't happy with just stealing -- they had to cause damage too. In one case they sprayed the contents of an extinguisher making it "look like it had snowed." 

Fire extinguishers are important life safety devices. If they are electronically monitored they can act as a deterrent against vandalism. It wouldn't have brought the kids stuff back, but they might have had less to clean up.

School districts across the country are facing huge unanticipated expenses as a result of damage from vandalism, much of which is caused with fire extinguishers. We can't lock up extinguishers because they are the first line of defense against a fire and prevent so many fires from spreading and causing severe damage.

This is what we call teamwork -- the student reported the fire and the teacher put it out. The third member of this team was the fire extiguisher that did its job. Congratulations to all three!

Another school hero with a fire extinguisher in hand. The quick acting teacher put out the fire before there was any fire damage. Having operable fire extinguishers is critical in every school.

So said the principal who looked at a room in his school that had been vandalized with a fire extinguisher. School was disrupted, students were displaced and everyone had a sense of loss.

Fire extinguishers are often used by vandals. But many schools and universities have found a deterrent -- electronically monitored fire extinguishers. These extinguishers send an alarm as soon as one is removed from its cradle or box alerting authorities to a possible fire or in the case of this story vandalism.

Sixth-grader Justice Ferguson said it hurts that a classmate put her and others in danger. "That's sad. We need an education," she said, noting the fire was by her classroom.

Again and again, these stories come up. Kids setting fires in schools, especially bathrooms. In this case the entire building was evacuated and $10,000 in damage resulted.

The good news is a school resource officer was able to use a fire extinguisher to knock down the flames before more damage was done.

He started two fires in the school forcing an evacuation. Fortunately one didn't take and a custodian succesfully used an extinguisher to put out the other before it spead.

School fires -- be they intentional or accidental -- happen far too often (just check out the stories in this blog). Having available working fire extinguishers is a matter of life safety. With electronic monitoring you can be sure your extinguishers are both operational and available.

The principal is right -- this is very disappointing and there is no need to do vandalism. Sadly, it happens to fire extinguishers -- a LOT. More unfortunate is the expense the damage can cause and worse the threat to life safety.

Fire extinguisher vandalism can be diminished or even fully prevented with electronic monitoring such as with en-Gauge. en-Gauge can help avoid unnecessary expenses and more importantly reduces risk and helps maintain life safety.