A USA TODAY study of deaths of four-year college students found that fires were a leading cause, especially for seniors. Seniors account for 36% of the fire fatalities in the study, which also found that when students die in fires, it usually happens just off campus. Near-campus housing often lacks smoke alarms, sprinkler systems and easy escape routes. Ed Comeau, director of the Center for Campus Fire Safety in Amherst, Mass., says such houses are often older buildings, packed with electronics and young adults hosting parties and cooking for the first time in their own kitchens.
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