The annual Murfreesboro Teen Fire Academy returns in June, and local fire marshals with MTSU Life and Fire Safety and Murfreesboro Fire Rescue want students to be prepared to protect themselves against on-campus fires and emergencies.
Life and Fire Safety Marshal John “Jake” Turner and Murfreesboro Fire Rescue Assistant Fire Marshal Shan Womack shared campus resources, and both agreed that distracted students handling cooking elements is a primary cause of emergency fire service calls.
“Somebody is falling asleep, just not been paying attention, and that causes a grease fire [that] turns into a kitchen fire,” Womack said.
Turner echoed Womack’s sentiment that MTSU students living in small spaces like apartments or dorms should prioritize fire safety.
Most fires at MTSU are incipient, which means they are small and easy to extinguish, and these fires often result from overcooking food in the microwave, ovens or on hot plates, Turner said.
Food carbonizes when exposed to excessive heat, creating oil, gas and fuel for a fire, Turner said. The heat is low in these fires and contained in the pieces of food.
“I get a lot of burnt food,” Turner said. “Burnt popcorn, not enough water in the ramen, the 33-minute baked potato. You have a sitting fire in the microwave because you basically turned a microwave into a Class 4 carbonizer [a machine used to make charcoal from organic matter], and once the potato loses all of its water, it becomes fuel.”
People also leave electronic devices charging on textbooks or papers for extended periods, which can cause fires. Students have a habit of covering phones in blankets or pillows, which causes the devices to overheat while charging, Womack said.
Heavy phone use conducts heat as well, Turner said.
“What it puts off is light, shortwave radiation, heat and longwave radiation,” Turner said. “As it goes, the warmer it gets, till it superheats the battery in it. It ignites.”
Students should learn how to use the available fire extinguishers in every dorm and apartment complex and know when the fire is too large to escape, Womack said. Turner encouraged students to familiarize themselves with the fire exits in dorm buildings. It’s important to know the building’s exit routes in an emergency situation, Turner said.
“In groups larger than three, we’re shaky herd animals, and we’ll trample each other trying to get away,” Turner said. “The other thing is we’re creatures of memory.”
Murfreesboro Fire Rescue holds the fourth annual Teen Fire Safety Academy at the Doug Young Public Safety Training Facility on June 25-27, 2025, to teach teens the importance of fire safety through hands-on demonstrations of emergency fire situations.
Womack created the program to show participants ages 13-17 how to use a fire extinguisher, conduct a search and rescue, unload hoses from fire trucks, and perform extrication, or use tools like the Jaws of Life to rescue someone from a vehicle.
“A lot of people don’t realize how heavy fire extinguishers are,” Womack said. “It’s a good hands-on activity for them to see how that feels.”
A few past participants submitted applications to the station when they turned 18, Womack said. The program grew in popularity this year due to news attention and positive chatter from past participants, with 72 applicants for the original 20 positions.
“I would love to get all of them in it,” Womack said. “I’m actually looking at more dates … so we can try to get all the applicants involved.”
The Teen Fire Academy shares many similarities with the Citizens Fire Academy, a class for adults released in August. The teen program doesn’t have an 80-foot aerial climb due to safety concerns for the younger participants, Womack said. The participation fee is $20.
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