LANSING—Senator Deb Cherry (D-Burton) introduced legislation yesterday to help protect Michigan students from potential fire hazards in the dormitories on college and university campuses across Michigan. The bill, SB 1090, will require the State Fire Marshal to develop rules and establish an inspection system for dormitories in colleges and universities.

“As any college student can attest, they live in close and crowded quarters, which can be a recipe for disaster in an emergency,” said Sen. Cherry. “By establishing proper fire safety and inspection guidelines, we can ensure the safety of all residents under the care of our schools and prevent a dangerous situation from getting out of hand.”

“This legislation is a tremendous leap forward for the safety and protection of our students at universities across the state and will help ease the minds of parents whose children are away at school,” said State Fire Marshal Andy Neumann.

The bill was introduced in the State Senate on Wednesday, February 13th and was referred to the Senate Committee on Education. The new inspection system will prioritize targets to focus on deficiencies identified in previous reports and the need for follow-up.

“We’re so diligent with fire safety in the early stages of our education system, promoting smart habits at an early age,” Cherry said. “But at the collegiate level, we need to realize we’re not talking about evacuating classrooms in an orderly fashion, we’re talking about kids waking up from a dead sleep with only seconds to react to a crisis. With this legislation, hopefully we can better avoid those situations altogether.”

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Elected to the Senate in 2002 and 2006, Senator Cherry is a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, serving as Minority Vice Chair on the Subcommittees for Community Health and Retirement. She is also a member of the Subcommittee on Capital Outlay.