Madison landlord Dave Wood recently proposed a campaign directed toward UW-Madison students that seeks to increase safety education in student housing.
Wood created the campaign after making routine visits to his properties and finding many violations that compromise personal safety. Wood's biggest concerns were front doors and fire doors being propped open.
Kids are in a hurry with their lifestyle and they aren't taking responsibility '¦ [the campaign] is for their well-being, the safety of their roommates and the safety of the buildings,"" Wood said. The campaign's goal is ""to prevent and ask for personal responsibility through education.""
Wood sought the help of Madison Property Managements, the company responsible for his eight rental buildings. MPM will put up safety flyers and posters in the buildings. In conjunction with lease signing, students will also sign a copy of the flyer pledging their knowledge of the information.
Wood also began collaborating with The Madison Fire Department in the fall to gather the key messages for the program.
""Young people don't realize the responsibility that comes with off-campus housing - o [their knowledge] stops at paying the rent on time,"" spokeswoman Lori Wirth said.
Wirth hopes the community will increase efforts using Wood's campaign as an example. ""The fire department is thrilled with the initiative,"" Wirth said. ""To have someone in the business community to help put the word out, that's a real gift.""
UW-Madison would like to collaborate with the housing safety campaign as well. UW-Madison spokesman John Lucas said the university always seeks to increase safety for students. ""The idea is to bring key participants to a common table to share input and work together to make improvements,"" Lucas said.
Lucas stressed the community will be safer if people work to reduce their risks and pointed out that prevention is always the main goal.
The Madison Police Department expressed their ongoing support for the safety program. MPD Public Information Officer Joel DeSpain said, ""Partnering with the community is the key to keeping everyone safe,"" and emphasized safety will never improve without widespread support.
