Three University of Minnesota students died of smoke inhalation after a fire broke out in their Southeast Minneapolis duplex early Saturday morning, and a fourth student was injured as he jumped from a second-story window to escape the blaze.

While firefighters are still unsure what caused the fire, early evidence points to unsafe housing and inadequate safety precautions as likely culprits.

What happened this weekend at this neighboring campus community should serve as a wake-up call for landlords and students in Madison. This was a tragic accident that could have been prevented had better housing and safety standards been met. What should especially alarm UW students is that much of the off-campus housing in Madison closely resembles the housing at the University of Minnesota — most notably the houses in the area where this fire occurred.

The University of Minnesota students lived in a duplex house located in a neighborhood where many of the homes were built in the early 1900s. Their duplex was divided into front and back living units that had only one exit. The duplex owner, Eischens Management, owns many properties in the area that have been tagged for hundreds of collective code violations over the past six years. There may have been problems with over-occupancy in the house, and it is still unclear whether fire detectors in the home were working properly at the time of the blaze.

Do any of these housing characteristics sound familiar? They most likely do. Areas like Mifflin St. and Broom St. are lined with old homes where many UW students reside. Old homes turned duplexes often house more students than is ideal, and several large rental companies in Madison are notorious for their less-than-perfect management.

And, of course, the simplest method of fire prevention is oftentimes overlooked: the smoke detector.

According to the National Fire Protection Association, there are more than 1,700 documented fires in campus housing every year. Activities that occur more frequently in college housing, such as cooking, smoking, alcohol consumption, candle and incense burning, halogen-lighting use, disabled fire alarms and electrical overloads, are all common causes of fires.

In addition, the Federal Emergency Management Agency estimates that 90 percent of house fires occur in homes built before 1972. This statistic is frightening, considering that the student housing on most campuses is comprised largely of older houses rented out to students.

Despite the fact that student housing often combines old homes with at-risk activities, many of the houses that Madison students call home do not have smoke detectors that function properly or, worse yet, do not have smoke detectors at all.

Landlords must take fire alarms and smoke detectors seriously. They are ultimately responsible for making sure that each of their rental units is properly equipped with enough fire detectors.

State law requires property owners to provide a working smoke detector on each floor of every housing unit. It also requires that residents maintain smoke detectors and notify landlords if the smoke detector isn’t working properly. All smoke detectors should be tested annually, and their batteries should be replaced once a year.

Smoke detectors are one item that landlords cannot cite as being too costly or difficult to maintain, because they are relatively cheap and easy to install. A First Alert smoke detector can be purchased on Amazon.com for $13.37. Smoke detectors at the Home Depot include various models and sizes ranging in price from $7.25 to $129.94. Step-by-step installation directions are printed right on the back of many of the boxes. There is no reason that landlords should not provide student tenants with a working model of this life-saving device.

Although it is largely the responsibility of landlords to ensure that their rental properties have proper fire-detection devices installed, students must also take responsibility for their own safety.

Every single student on this campus should take a few minutes and look to see if their house or apartment has a fire alarm or smoke detector. If there is a smoke detector, use the test button to make sure it has fresh batteries and works properly.

Also, do not assume that your fire alarm or smoke detector is working properly simply because you live in a newer apartment building. UW junior Jessica Heinz lived in a newer apartment building on West Dayton Street last year. As soon as the weather started getting colder, the fire alarm for the entire building malfunctioned for almost a week and would spontaneously go off for 20 to 30 minutes at a time.

“Every time the alarm would go off, someone would have to call the manager and file an over-the-phone work request. Then we would have to sit there while the alarm blared and wait for someone to come and turn it off. This happened for probably three days in a row before someone really came and fixed it for good,” Heinz said. “The sad thing was that by that point, we didn’t even take the fire alarm seriously at all anymore.”

If your smoke detector or fire alarm malfunctions, make sure to contact your landlord or property manager right away. Be insistent that they come and look at the problem, even if they shrug you off the first time. Many times property owners fail to view malfunctioning fire alarms or smoke detectors as a pressing issue. This weekend has proven otherwise. Aside from being a nuisance, a fire alarm that doesn’t work properly could be potentially fatal.

Students must also remember to take fire alarms and smoke detectors seriously when they sound. Many times students assume a false alarm and continue sleeping or go about their business. Make sure when you hear a fire alarm, especially if you are sleeping, that you check things out and make sure that there is not really a fire.

While stressing the importance of fire alarms and smoke detectors may sound silly or overly cautious, the families of three University of Minnesota students would almost surely tell you that it is not. It takes only a few minutes to make sure you have functioning smoke detectors in your house or apartment. And it could very well save your life.

Kari Bellingham ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in journalism.