By Nate Gibbons

As parents pack up the trunks and load the SUV for the drive off to college, your Westport Fire Department wants you to include something small, simple, yet as valuable as the life of that son or daughter: fire safety away from home.

Each year there are more than 1,700 dormitory fires at U.S. colleges and universities and that figure does not include off-campus or ‘Greek’ housing. The last several years have seen multiple-fatality fires on college campuses—tragic deaths that could have been prevented using basic fire safety skills.

Going off to college brings many new challenges. It provides independence. It offers great opportunities for knowledge and growth but also the temptations of risky behaviors beyond parental supervision.

The transition from living at home to life in a college dorm or fraternity/sorority can be overwhelming, so it is not surprising that fire safety and fire survival get lost in the mix. Many young men and women feel invincible or indestructible. Toxic fire gases and inadequate or blocked fire exits don’t recognize that feeling.

Members of the Staples High School Class of 1955 gathered at Westport’s Red Barn Restaurant Saturday night as part of their 50th reunion weekend. Among them were Noel Castiglia and Bruce Kent. Ron Malone (Staples ‘55) for WestportNow.com

Members of the Staples class of 1970 caught up with one another today during a picnic at Westport’s Compo Beach. The picnic was the final activity of the weekend-long reunion. On Friday, members of the class had an informal get together at the Longshore Country Club Patio Bar while Saturday night they had a dinner dance at The Sons of Italy in Norwalk. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Jonathan Thrope for WestportNow.com