Three organizations gathered together on Tuesday to remind college students and their parents to be aware of fire risks associated with student housing. The National Fire Protection Association, Consumer Product Safety Commission and the U.S. Fire Administration shared information from a report released by NFPA and urged students and their parents to brush up on fire prevention and safety.

Tragically, thousands of fires occur each year in on- and off-campus housing. As college students move into housing in the coming days and weeks, NFPA urges students and their parents to be mindful of fire prevention and safety.

While many parents have educated their children about home fire safety, it is equally important for parents to remind them how to keep themselves safe from fire while living at school. Whether students are living on-campus or in off-campus housing, it is important for these young adults to take an active role in fire prevention and safety.

The report also showed that most deaths that occurred in dormitories were from fires that started in the bedroom. Food or cooking materials were likely to be the items to be first ignited in fires. And fires were found to be more common between 5 p.m. and 11 p.m. and on weekends.

Cooking was the leading cause of fires and involved in 72% of fires in fires in dormitories, fraternities and sororities. But smoking-related fires were responsible for the most deaths and injuries in these occupancies with 40% of fire deaths attributed to smoking materials. Fires involving candles were found to be the second leading cause of fire deaths, responsible for 20% of the fire deaths in these occupancies.

For more information and safety tips, visit NFPA’s fact sheet on campus safety.