Three students at Miami University-Oxford were killed in an early morning off-campus fire April 10 at a two-story brick rental home in Ohio. Miami senior Stephen J. Smith, junior Kathryn Welling and senior Julia Turnbull were killed in the fire, of which officials still do not know the cause.

“We are doing everything we can to help and provide support to the families and friends of the victims,” Miami President Jim Garland said in a release. “But this is a tragedy that is touching everyone in the university community.”

Despite firefighters being at the scene in less than one minute, it still took an hour and a half before the blaze could be leveled.

MU spokesperson Holly Wissing said many students are fairly well prepared for hazardous fire situations, especially since their mandatory first-year residence with MU dormitories also demands obligatory fire training.

Wissing added the fire has had a serious impact on the community.

“I think it’s created a shockwave that went through the campus,” Wissing said. “Student counselors have reached out to other community counseling groups to provide the counseling we will need.”

The concern of students living in private residential housing has not fazed officials who work with University of Wisconsin students on a regular basis.

According to Tallard Apartments co-founder Peter Lemberger, many of Tallard’s buildings were built between 1920 and 1950, one dates as far back as 1880. Despite this, Tallard has a fulltime maintenance staff to provide students with a safe residence.

Lemberger also advised that students should follow city ordinances aimed to help prevent fires, such as making sure to grill 10 to 15 feet away from homes instead of on decks.

Tallard also supplies its residents with batteries for smoke detectors and asks residents to make sure their detectors are operational.

“It’s amazing when we go into places how many smoke alarm batteries are either missing, or the nine volt battery has been [recessed] from the contact,” Lemberger said. “If you pull a chair out to unconnect [the battery], leave the chair there so that when the smoke clears, that’s a reminder to get back up there.”

Lemberger said Tallard has not experienced a fire incident yet.

But fire safety is not limited to individuals in private housing, undergraduates and staff in University Housing also has a responsibility to maintain safety standards.

According to University Housing Director Paul Evans, fire department inspectors regularly go through buildings and students should go through the University Housing handbook.

Undergraduates are not allowed to have candles or cook inside their rooms to help protect from fire hazards.

Evans said University Housing has not gone through an ordeal like MU’s.

“Fire is one of the things we’re very concerned about because of the potential tragedy it could cause,” Evans said. “I hope students understand rules that might seem petty … really have been developed over the years.”

Still, Wissing said there is always some danger when the college crowd begins looking for homes off-campus, although individuals should not stereotype such claims.

“Students are not as attentive to maintenance as they might [be] if they own the home,” Wissing said. “When you have a bunch of young people in an older home that probably does increase the potential for hazards.”