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University of Wisconsin Dean of Students Lori Berquam and the Madison Fire Department are launching a campaign this week to increase awareness about the importance of having functional fire detectors in off-campus housing.

During the Fire Safety Awareness Week, Berquam and MFD will give away nearly 2,000 donated Rayovac 9-volt batteries to UW students.

?We hope this is an opportunity for students to know, in the beginning of the semester, about safety,? Berquam said.

Although students at residence halls have no need for batteries (as the smoke detectors are connected to an electric system), Berquam said there will be other free items distributed during the campaign, including free magnets and the chance to win one of six $100 gift certificates to the University Book Store.

The campaign comes after two fall semester fires struck the UW campus.

An early morning blaze Nov. 18 on 123 N. Bedford St. killed a UW-La Crosse student and left three UW-Madison students with burn injuries. Only a week prior, another incident on 505 N. Carroll St. displaced 30 UW students and caused an estimated $206,000 in damages.

In the case of the 123 N. Bedford St. fire, no smoke detectors were found in the house.

?Fire safety is something that most students take for granted, but the tragedy of last November caused a rude awakening for many students,? City Council President Mike Verveer said.

Berquam and MFD will be distributing free batteries at Union South Thursday and Memorial Union Friday, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Although the campaign is aimed at students, recent fires also affected other areas of the city of Madison.

A late December fire at 620 Cedar St. killed 57-year-old James Ranzen, and an early January incident on 2222 Independence Lane displaced 25 people and caused more than $750,000 in damage.

According to MFD, the 620 Cedar St. was the fifth fatal fire in Madison in 2007, and Ranzen was the fourth to die in a fire caused by discarded smoking materials. Often the smoke detectors were malfunctioning or without batteries.

MFD recommends one alarm on each level of a home, one in each bedroom and alarms installed in each room between the bedrooms and the exit. All alarms should be interconnected.

The coalition led by Berquam includes Spectrum brands, Ian?s Pizza, the Offices of the Dean of Students Campus Safety Taskforce, the Madison Landlord Council, Tallard Apartments and the Campus Area Housing Listing Service.

?The cornerstone of this campaign is giving out free batteries, but frankly, all the batteries in the world won?t make a difference if the smoke detectors are sitting on kitchen corners or on top of dressers,? Verveer said.

According to the National Fire Protection Association, the peak months for home heating fires are December, January and February, and those months account for 44 percent of all home-heating fires.