University’s Fire Science Program Featured in Fire Safety Video

Patrick Ethier ’22 has been an active member of his local fire department since he was 16 years old. Passionate about giving back to his community and keeping others safe, he was recently featured as part of a new fire safety video, filmed, in part, at the University, that he hopes will promote public safety.

A fire protection engineering major at the University, Ethier is looking forward to designing fire protection systems that, he hopes, will “help provide a safer tomorrow.” He also hopes the video, titled “Safety INsight,” will do that as well. The title is a play on words, of sorts, since the film offers important insight into one’s surroundings – including what is hiding in plain sight.

“Being part of the shoot was an amazing experience,” said Ethier. “I am very grateful I had the opportunity to be a part of it. I really enjoyed spending most of that day with my classmates and some of the fire science faculty talking about what we do in our field. We were also able to show off the equipment that students are working with at the University of New Haven.”

‘The first fire that started to change the safety code standards’

Ethier was one of several students and faculty members who are part of the video, which was filmed at the University shortly after the Spring 2021 semester ended. It focused on the importance of fire safety, fire science education, and fire codes through the lens of a lesser known fire: the Rhythm Club Fire in Natchez, Mississippi. More than 200 people were killed in the fire, which occurred in 1940 in a predominantly Black community, and the tragedy did not gain national attention.

The hope is that by educating the public about that tragedy, the film will honor those who were killed while educating the public. That’s something that Sierra Hawkins ’22, whose father is a career firefighter and whose mother is a volunteer EMT, is passionate about.

“Being a part of this shoot was such a great experience because I was able to be a part of a film that informs and helps the public learn about a fire that is typically forgotten about,” said Hawkins, a fire science major who aspires to a career in fire investigations. “This fire has shaped the way the fire service writes fire and life-safety codes.

“Not many people know about or remember the Natchez Rhythm Club Fire, let alone, realize how impactful it still is,” she continued. “This was the first fire that started to change the safety code standards for music halls.”

‘The idea is to create more awareness of fire codes’

Fire safety is also a passion of Matthew Troy, the filmmaker. A native of Hebron, Conn., he joined the volunteer fire service when he was in high school and earned his fire certification while studying film and television at New York University. He recently moved to Bethel, Conn., where he continues to serve as a volunteer firefighter.

Several years ago, Troy created a public service announcement to promote recruitment for the volunteer fire service in Connecticut. The Emmy Award-winning PSA aired on Connecticut television and eventually got the attention of First Arriving, a Virginia-based technology and marketing organization that serves public safety and local government entities. They asked Troy to create a documentary piece for the National Fallen Firefighters Association, and work on how “Safety INsight” began.

The video is the first episode of what Troy hopes will become a series. He describes it as a cross between the popular show “How It’s Made” and a historic documentary.

“The idea is to create more awareness of fire codes, code enforcement, and code creation,” he said. “It is for the general public and, also, for the fire service community. If we all recognize this and embrace codes and enforcement, we can save civilian and firefighter lives.”

‘We hope the film will honor the memory’

The video, which recently premiered on the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation website and YouTube channel, is gaining momentum. Retired fire chiefs are helping with the research and suggesting other fires to include in future episodes. Teaching the public about lesser-known fires was a critical objective of the project from the beginning in the hopes of ensuring that such tragedies are not forgotten.

“The Rhythm Club Fire in Natchez is one of the great American tragedies on two levels,” said John B. Tippett Jr., director of fire programs for the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. “The first tragedy is to the city of Natchez itself with all the lost promise of lives taken too soon.

“The second tragedy is how quickly the fire faded from the national memory, which we believe was a lost opportunity to make assemblies like it safer in the future,” he continued. “The Cocoanut Grove Fire (in Boston) two years later is stark proof. By returning some attention to the deaths, we hope the film will honor the memory of the 209 souls who died and serve as a reminder to all about the importance of ensuring our assembly occupancies are safe places where we can enjoy life.”

‘The students were so engaged and excited’

The video highlights important fire-safety protocols, including ensuring that building exits are not blocked and are easily accessible. It discusses what has been learned from tragedies such as the Natchez Rhythm Club Fire and how these lessons are being applied to keeping the public safe today, since today’s fire codes are influenced by yesterday’s tragedies.

“I hope this video will educate not only the general public, but current and future leaders of the fire service,” said Matthew Brown ’22, a fire science major who was part of the video. “This video was made with the ultimate goal of preventing future tragic events before they occur through life and safety-codes and prevention.”

In focusing on education, the video highlights how future investigators and fire safety professionals are being trained to keep the public safe. It showed the cutting-edge facilities and equipment used to teach students at the University, including a cone calorimeter, used to study the flammability of materials, and the sprinkler room.

“I felt very privileged to be invited to the campus to see the facilities,” said Troy. “As a firefighter, I was kind of geeking out and impressed by the opportunities the students have. I was blown away, and I thought it was fantastic. The program seems so strong, and the students were so engaged and excited. I’m glad we were able to feature the University in the piece.”

‘We are very proud of our students’

Jing Li, Ph.D., an associate professor in the University’s Fire Science and Emergency Management Department, is passionate about training the next generation of individuals who will fight fires and foster safety. He hopes the video will be an opportunity for the public to learn about the University’s programs in fire and explosion investigation, fire science, and fire protection engineering.

“The student and faculty participation in this video not only highlights the strengths of the University’s Fire Science and Emergency Management Department, it also brought to the public attention that fire safety can be studied fundamentally in the lab to limit the possibility of fire risk,” he said.

For Bruce Varga, M.S., a distinguished lecturer of fire science, tragedies such as the Natchez Rhythm Club Fire are important to discuss with his students. He hopes that, in addition to helping to educate the public, his students have learned from taking part in the video.

“We are very proud of our students for embracing the idea of participating in this video,” he said. “They have always been open to positive experiences that may benefit the fire science community and beyond, even if it may require that they step outside their immediate comfort zone.”

‘Anything is possible at the University’

Troy, the filmmaker, hopes the video will continue to reach audiences across the country – and beyond. He believes it is well suited for streaming platforms, where viewers interested in science and how the world works can watch it. He also hopes that its focus on training young fire professionals will also resonate with his audience.

“We wanted to feature the next generation of fire protection engineers, researchers, and fire marshals who are learning about fire science and safety,” he said. “You have programs like those at the University of New Haven, with these incredibly engaged and excited students, and they graduate and go into fields such as fire protection engineering, research, and code enforcement. They are the hidden heroes of the future. This is the generation that’s going to prevent tragedies from happening in the first place, and that’s what we’re trying to champion with this piece.”

Those students include Mckenzee Juratovic ’23, a fire science major who was also featured in the video. Juratovic hopes the video resonates with younger generations and lets them know how she and her classmates and professors are working to make the world a little safer.

“I hope this video shows that the University's fire science program is very progressive and cutting-edge,” she said. “I hope it shows that males and females can excel in the program as well as on the job. I hope viewers see that anything is possible at the University of New Haven and that the fire science professors become your mentors. The program gives you experiences and memories that will last for the rest of your fire career.”