Students’ Awareness of Fire Safety Measures in a University Building: A Case Study of a Clinical Hostel

Abstract

This study investigated students' knowledge of fire safety measures in a university hostel building in Nigeria, aiming to identify lapses in effective fire safety management through user involvement in educational environments. The research is a case study that adopted quantitative and qualitative research approaches. Data were gathered from 165 randomly selected students using a closed-ended, structured questionnaire. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses of the data were used, which included frequency counts and percentages. Generally, the results indicated that most of the students’ lacked knowledge of some basic fire prevention and protection measures. More than half of the students (52.3%) reported high and very high awareness of the possibility of a fire outbreak in their hostel. However, in the event of evacuation during a fire accident, a relatively low percentage of the students (32.8%) showed high and very high awareness of evacuation procedures. Only 29.7% indicated high and very high awareness of the use of fire equipment. Recommendations include enhanced training programs, regular fire drills, improved signage, and strategic architectural modifications to reduce bottlenecks and improve emergency egress. The findings provide valuable insights for architects, policymakers, hostel administrators, and educational institutions, and underscore the need for a paradigm shift from reactive to proactive fire safety planning in student housing design.