Campus Connection

Representatives from two nationwide organizations that promote fire safety on college campuses will visit UW-La Crosse to recap the Drake Hall fire. Representatives from The Michael H. Minger Foundation and Campus Firewatch will be in La Crosse Tuesday, April 17, to interview administrators and students, along with La Crosse Fire Chief Gregg Cleveland. They plan to condense the day of interviews into a documentary about the importance of fire safety and the consequences of fire. It will be made available on the Foundation's website this fall for schools to use in fire safety outreach. Gail Minger is the founder of The Michael H. Minger Foundation and a national advocate for fire safety. The foundation was formed after the death of Michael Minger, Gail’s son, in a residence hall fire at Murray State University and focuses on developing fire safety information and materials for students and schools across the nation. Minger plans to make the visit to La Crosse to continue to get the message out about the importance of fire safety awareness. “Doing simple things can be the difference between life and serious injury, or death” she notes. Campus Firewatch Founder Ed Comeau has been intrigued by the Drake Hall fire because it was a fire that closed the residence hall for a semester. And, he wants to hear the story firsthand of how there were no serious injuries, along with how the campus has dealt with relocating students and other fire implications. Campus FIrewatch is providing significant technical support and coordination to the project. For more about the Minger Foundation visit: http://www.mingerfoundation.org/. For more info on Campus Firewatch visit: http://www.campus-firewatch.com/