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Remember
the Code
5th
Annual
Cody Blue Foundation
Charity Golf Tournament
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Indian Trails Golf Course
Grifton
To sign up call
252-524-6915
Please note: There is NO ONLINE REGISTRATION this year. To register, please complete
the registration
form and mail with your payment to PO Box 70 Grifton, NC 28530
What
is the Code?
First and foremost to us, it’s Cody. Some of his
friends and family called him “Code” or “Code-Man”.
Secondly, it’s a building
code and it applies to rental housing.
NC General statute
42-42 reads “All rental (multi-family) property
must be inspected (by the landlord/owner) prior to the
beginning of each tenancy and that smoke alarms must
be in working/operational order".
The
Tragedy
In Cody’s case, the house he moved into in August of 2005 was considered
a multi-family dwelling. There were eight fraternity brothers in the duplex – four
on one side and four on the other. It was a split level house with two floors
visible from the front and three from the back. There was a “landlord” who
had, for some odd years, been the keeper of the dwelling. The house was owned
by someone else. It came to light that the routine maintenance and various
repairs to the house were hired out by the landlord to one of the fraternity
brothers who occupied the house. It remains the responsibility of the landlord
to inspect, prior to the tenancy of each new renter, the existence and function
of smoke alarms. But he didn’t inspect the house. And sadly, THERE IS
NO ENFORCEMENT of this code. There is not an office to oversee the enforcement,
nor officials to conduct inspections. So that leaves it up to the occupants
(although according to code, it’s the landlord or owner’s responsibility).
There were two
smoke alarms in the rental house on Cody’s side
of this duplex – one in the basement and one inside
a bedroom next door to Cody’s that the father of
the occupant installed. Cody went to the house after
work that Thursday night and spoke to the tenants who
were gathered on the other side of the duplex. He went
to his room sometime after 11:00 p.m. His last phone
call was from his girlfriend right after midnight. He
was scheduled to work the next morning.
In
the house that night were several guests, on the middle
floor under Cody’s room, playing pool and drinking.
The last four people left after 4:30 a.m. The fire department
was called at 6:30 a.m. after neighbors saw the flames.
|
Four smoke alarms in the closet
still in the package |
The
other side of the duplex had sufficient alarms, ladders,
extinguishers. The occupant of Cody’s side in the
basement who had a alarm, escaped. The occupant whose bedroom
was beside Cody’s, jumped from the back window of
his bedroom (three flights down.) |
| The
cause of the fire was a discarded cigarette that was thrown
or had fallen into a love seat and combusted. The pine
walls in the 1965 house acted like kindling. We found the
smoke alarms in the closet outside Cody’s room after
the fire, still in the package. |
What
We Do
The Cody
Blue Foundation was formed to facilitate training of parents,
students and firefighting personnel. We are non-profit and
operate from donations and fundraising and with the help
of a very supportive community filled with friends, family
and empathizers.The Cody Blue
Foundation holds the Annual
Charity Golf Tournament each
October to raise funds for The
Cody Blue Pilkington Scholarship. We also donate
smoke alarms to fire departments in cities where colleges
and universities are located.
If you are interested in having us speak to your group contact
us.
If you look at the statistics relating to
college students who have died in off-campus fires, the numbers
will startle you:
There were 18 student-related fire deaths for the 2007-2008
academic year, the second highest total on record since
2000.
Campus
Firewatch has identified 135 student-related fire deaths
across the nation since 1999 with 83 percent of them occurring
in off-campus housing, which is where more than two-thirds
of the students lived. According to the U.S. Department of
Education, there are approximately 18,000,000 students
enrolled in 4,100 colleges
and universities across the country. Approximately 2/3
of the students live in off-campus housing.
|
Campus-related
fire fatalities from January
2000 to present |
Occupancy
|
Deaths
|
% of total
|
| Off-campus |
113
|
84%
|
| Residence Hall |
10
|
8%
|
| Greek housing |
10
|
8%
|
| Other |
2
|
1%
|
| Total |
135
|
|
| Template
for the tragedies:
 Older,
off-campus dwelling
Drinking
excessive amounts of alcohol
Disabled
smoke alarms
Most
happened on weekends and in the early
hours
41% reported
from 5 a.m. to 6:59 a.m.
69% were
in houses built in 1929 or earlier
65% of
the victims were males
28%
of the smoke detectors were missing or
disconnected
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There
was federal regulation passed (H.Res 295) in September
of 2006 proclaiming September as Campus Fire Safety Month.
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So how do we fix this?
So many houses are remodeled to hold students (as many as possible = more $$)
and the renovation is done often without permits. These remodels, if done with
a permit, have to meet state and local requirements regarding their structure
and safety. |
Cody's window after the fire |
| Because many
remodels are done without a permit, there is no inspection.
They are under the radar, thus there is no enforcement
of these requirements. The responsibility lies on the renter,
student and the parents. |
We don’t
believe that legislation will change the situation. It
will take restructuring city government to create a position
for inspections alone. Our mission is to reach as many
people as we can and beg them to look.
We didn’t look. Our guilt is a monster that haunts
us in our sleep and in broad daylight, every day of every
week.
Education is
our foremost objective. Working with Ed Comeau of the
Campus Fire Watch organization, we are approaching every
college town, city fire departments and fire safety personnel
to involve them in the Campus Fire Safety Initiative.
Because 2/3 of the 14 million college students live off
campus, our goal is to ensure that the same protections
are available to them that exist on campus.
What can you do?
Join us on our mission. If you are in college or have contact with college-age
students, please talk with the college city's Fire Department and make sure
they are a part of the Campus Fire Safety Initiative. There are many resource
tools available to them to provide effective fire safety education for students. Contact
us and we'll help wherever it's needed.
Remember the Code
The existence of building codes becomes useless when there is no enforcement.
There is sadly no end to our grief because we assumed Cody was in a safe
environment. So we ask you to Remember the Code. Remember the building code
that no one will enforce to ensure your safety. Inspect your apartment or
house. Some local fire departments will install smoke alarms for you if you
do not have them, free of charge. If they won’t, contact us.
Remember the Code that was our Code, our Code-Man, who never had the chance
to get out.
Thank you.
Kinsey lights birthday
candles for Cody on his 22nd birthday 11/14/2007 |
to
the Cody Blue Foundation
Click here for
a printer friendly form to mail your donation.
to
the Cody Blue Pilkington Scholarship
Click here for
a printer friendly form to mail your donation.
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Did
you check your smoke alarms because of this website? |
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Have
you asked someone to check their smoke alarms because
of this website? |
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Please
tell us if what we're doing has made a difference. |
Sign the Guestbook!
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