Kennesaw State hosted its fourth annual Campus Safety Day on the Marietta campus Thursday, Sept. 5, with events engaging students in various services offered by the university.
“Safety and preparedness is everyone’s responsibility,” Director of KSU’s Office of Emergency Management Andy Altizer said.
The event comes during National Fire Prevention Week.
KSU showed off the variety of their public safety offices by hosting members of KSU’s Police Department, the Office of Victim Services and the Office of Emergency Management.
Students who attended the event were given the opportunity to learn about how to use a fire extinguisher from the Marietta Fire Department. Attendees were also able to receive a free flu shot from KSU student nurses, interact with KSU and local police officers, witness a mock residence hall burn and more.
There were also demonstrations of firefighting and rescue techniques by local firefighters, and a visit with police dogs from KSUPD and Cobb County Sheriff K9 units, according to KSU News.
Altizer highlighted the importance of students downloading the free LiveSafe app which provides students a direct link to various public safety groups.
Based on student responses, the majority of students were drawn in by the residence hall burn — a tradition that led to the eventual creation of a formal Campus Safety Day.
According to the Marietta Fire Department, the burn is intended to show students how quickly a fire can spread in a small space like a dorm, as well as how effective sprinkler systems are at controlling the dangers of fire.
The flu shot booth set up by KSU’s student nurses allowed for KSU students and faculty to receive free flu shots along with information about additional health services provided on both campuses.
The school also displayed its flashier equipment, including the Office of Public Safety’s Mobile Command Vehicle and KSUPD’s Critical Incident Response Trailer.
When asked, several students said they were surprised by the variety of services that work behind the scenes to ensure students get through each day as safe as possible.
Campus Safety Day is a collaboration on safety issues among several KSU departments, including KSU PD, Emergency Management, Environmental Health and Safety and Housing and Residence Life, as well as external police and fire departments. Other participating organizations include the American Red Cross and Cobb and Douglas County Public Health, according to KSU News.
Campus Safety Day will be hosted at the Kennesaw campus on Thursday, Sept. 19, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Abi Marmurowicz contributed to this article.
