Stony Brook Fire and Safety Expo Promotes Campus Safety and Awareness

A student learns how to extinguish a fire at the annual Fire and Safety Expo, sponsored by the Department of Environmental Health and Safety. Photos courtesy of Veronica Brown and Dennis Murray.

Fire prevention and safety was the focus of Stony Brook University's annual Fire and Safety Expo, hosted by the Department of Environmental Health and Safety(EH&S).

The campus-wide event, held October 23, was designed to educate students, staff, and faculty through interactive displays, live demonstrations, giveaways, and safety information from local fire departments, university organizations, and external agencies.

Gary Kaczmarczyk, associate vice president for Environmental Health and Safety, underscored the importance of the expo. "The whole purpose of this event is to ignite awareness - not just about fire safety, but overall safety. We've been doing fire prevention activities for over 20 years, and about 15 years ago we combined our safety event with fire prevention into one, growing steadily every year."

Kaczmarczyk explained how EH&S has been conducting "Heat and Heat" live demonstrations in residence halls throughout Fire Prevention Month, helping students understand fire behavior and how to respond to fire emergencies. "This year's expo is the culmination of those activities, with support from campus residences, auxiliary services, and external partners like the police and fire departments," Kaczmarczyk added.

One of the highlights of the event was a demonstration from Ryan Fischer, a fire marshal from the Suffolk County Department of Fire Rescue, and his canine partner, Chuck. Fischer shared the critical role they play in fire investigations.

"Chuck is trained in ignitable liquids detection, and we're the only such team in Suffolk County," Fischer said."We assist with post-fire investigations to identify the presence of ignitable liquids, and in the event of a major fire, we're the first to respond."

Students also had the opportunity to crawl through a simulated house fire, extinguish a fire using a fire extinguisher, and try a drunk driver simulation, complete with goggles that simulate impaired vision. "The goal is to show students the real impact of impaired driving and fire hazards, which is hard to imagine without simulation," Kaczmarczyk emphasized.

Scott Gershowitz, fire safety program manager and deputy chief of inspections, reiterated the importance of taking fire alarms seriously, particularly in residence halls.

"Unattended cooking is one of the top causes of fire alarm activations, and the most important message is to treat every fire alarm as a true emergency," he said. "Don't wait or assume it's just a drill - always evacuate immediately."

Through these hands-on experiences and critical safety demonstrations, Stony Brook's Fire and Safety Expo reinforces safety practices and awareness across campus and is a reminder to all members of the community to be safe.

- Beth Squire

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