An Associated Press story that I read in the Contra Costa Times on Wednesday pointed to one more negative effect of our nation's conspicuous power consumption. The National Fire Protection Association reports that the number of college dormitory fires has grown from 1,800 in 1998 to 3,300 in 2005. Thirty-nine students died in fires between 2002 and 2005. The reason for the increase in fires? Students are plugging in more electronic devices, including microwave ovens.
When I packed my bags in Maryland and moved to Indiana for college in the late 70s, I brought clothes, a clock radio, and a turntable with some early Springsteen and Steely Dan albums and that's about it. I lived in Carroll Hall at Notre Dame. We were regularly awakened by a fire alarm at 3 a.m. caused by an overheating boiler in the 100-year-old-plus building. No one was ever hurt, but it did lead to some interesting revelations––like who was entertaining overnight guests, a no-no at the Catholic school. (Sorry Billy Joel, but some Catholic girls don’t start much too late.)
In 1977, a fire at a dormitory at Providence College, in Providence, Rhode Island, killed 10 students. It's not known how the fire started, but it probably began with Christmas decorations. The story made headlines across the nation, and now most colleges and universities have strict rules limiting decorations in dorm rooms.
In 1999, Home Energy reported on a success story that combines energy efficiency with fire safety (www.homeenergy.org/archive/hem.dis.anl.gov/eehem/99/990310.html). Residents in Milwaukee, Wisconsin turned in halogen torchieres, a known fire hazard and energy hog that produces much more heat than light, for Energy Star energy-efficient CFLs. Home Depot gave out close to 700 energy-efficient bulbs in the first hour and a half. Because of many efforts such as the Milwaukee project, halogen torchieres are becoming rare.
This is the time of year when students from all over are moving more and more electronic equipment into their dorm rooms, sometimes connecting them to old and overwhelmed power grids. It seems like when one problem gets solved, another one steps in to take its place. Increased household electronics energy use--and more dormitory fires––have overtaken gains in appliance efficiency. But we've tackled problems like this before and we can do it again.
