The Fire Science Club hosted their annual Arson Awareness Fair on Wednesday (April 19) to bring awareness to the danger of fires and assure students know how to handle them.

Fires have been a major cause of serious accidents and causalities in the last several years, yet very few know people know how to handle them when they happen. Safety is major priority, but sometimes a simple lecture or an instructional manual doesn’t cut it. The University of New Haven’s Fire Science Club challenged that with the Arson Awareness Fair to teach students how to keep themselves safe in the event of a Fire.

The gray and windy day could not mask the warmth and liveliness of the fair in the Celentano Quad. A couple dozen students and faculty were gathered around to take part in the festivities and learn more about educating themselves on how to prepare in case of an arson related emergency. Freshman Mike Herold was in charge of the festivities this year.

“This is usually an annual event here, we try to do it every year,” said Herold. “This year, I was placed as the head of the committee to run this, so for the past few months I’ve been working to plan this and work to get everything you see here together.”

At the fair, cooks worked at a barbecue to supply hot dogs and hamburgers. The fire science students created two different activities with scenarios where students could practice putting out fires. One station focused on Charged Line where students used an actual fire truck hose to douse a mini house billboard with fires to knock down, and the other station contained the BullEX, a fire extinguisher simulator that focused on using a fire extinguisher to douse the fire at the base where it is the strongest.

The fair also had a special trailer designed to simulate a smoky house and teach students the best way to evacuate. Another set of fair workers had a station encouraging others to download the Campus Crisis Management app and instructions on how to keep safe during emergencies. There was even a public fire truck parked nearby for students to check out.

When asked about what the club wanted to do with future fairs, Herold said that they were looking to expand to encompass even more.

“This was my first year in charge of it, as a freshman. So hopefully next year if I’m in charge again, I hope to make more days and more events planned to make it a whole week long event,” he said.

While the fun part of the fair was very prominent, the overall priority was to teach people what to do in case of a fire.

“If there’s a small fire, the quicker you can get to it the better. But just knowing to get out and calling 911 immediately is the most important thing. Fire is very dangerous and kills several, it’s best to be safe,” said Herold.

Many students and volunteers expressed enjoyment in the fair, saying that it was a very educational but pleasant time, and hoping that the club would do it again.