As the month of September drew to a close, so did Campus Fire Safety Month. But for Pam Pilkington, the beginning of October doesn’t mean the end of spreading awareness.

Pilkington, mother of former student, Cody Pilkington, is well-aware of what happens when students ignore rules about fire safety.

On Oct. 7, 2005, Cody Pilkington and Mark Davis died of smoke inhalation when the Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity house caught on fire after an improperly discarded cigarette set fire to the carpeting.

According to John Saylor, a deputy fire marshal, the fraternity house was not on campus, and therefore was not subject to the regulations and inspections of the University Fire Marshal’s office. The office specifically requires working smoke alarms, something that was missing from parts of the house.

Further inspection of the house after the fire found four smoke alarms still in their packaging in one of the closets, a fact Pilkington said still haunts her to this day.

“It was so simple and there were so many of us that overlooked the missing smoke alarms,” Pilkington said. “There is no doubt in my mind that if they had been where they should have, he would still be alive.”

Although North Carolina law requires a landlord to provide working smoke alarms, Pilkington said there is no way to make sure rental owners abide by this rule.

“You may think that you’re being cautious, being safe, but someone else’s actions can really have an impact on you,” Pilkington said. “Never sleep anywhere that you don’t know two ways out. Always check the place you are sleeping for smoke alarms and see if they are working.”

In a video for igot2know.com, a website dedicated to public awareness and fire safety, Pilkington and her husband said they regret not checking into those things when they moved him into the house.

“I moved my son into an inferno,” Pilkington said.

Saylor said his office is in the middle of their University Housing inspection cycle and he strongly encourages students to adhere to the University Housing rules, since many of these rules are for their own protection.

“We want students to understand that we aren’t just being hard-nosed about this. It is for their own safety. We have been fortunate in that we haven’t had any dorm fires in a very long time, and we are always improving our system so that can remain so,” Saylor said. “We have a great line of defense here since — minus a couple houses on fraternity row — all of our buildings have sprinkler systems and, of course, working fire alarms.”

Saylor said the program has improved dramatically in the past few years and has seen an increase in staff. Inspections are also more frequent, occurring about twice a semester.

However, Saylor said it is also up to students to keep themselves safe, which in most cases on campus means keeping their environment clean and sanitary.

“In the three years that I’ve been here, housekeeping has been the biggest issue. That, and the use of improper electrical equipment like extension cords,” Saylor said. “Another problem is smoking in the dorms. Not only is it against University Housing policy and state law, it is simply unsafe.”

Since Cody’s death, the Pilkington family has created the Cody Blue Foundation, which supports local fire departments and raises awareness about fire safety.

Pilkington has traveled to several universities, including Pitt Community College and UNC Charlotte, to speak about this issue, especially to Greek organizations. She said she hopes to come and speak to students at N.C. State.

Along with donating smoke detectors and other supplies to local fire departments and neighborhoods, the Cody Blue Foundation also awards two $500 scholarships to high school students interested in attending N.C. State for engineering, science or mathematics — since Cody was a sophomore in engineering at the time of his death.

“On the night Cody died, I had to write his obituary,” Pilkington said. “We talked about where people should send flowers and I thought about the scholarship. That seemed to be the right thing since he was so academically gifted.” 

To continue to provide these scholarships, the foundation holds an annual golf tournament to raise funds. This year’s tournament will be held Friday at the Indian Trails golf course in Grifton, N.C., and at least 16 four-person teams are expected to play. Last year, the tournament raised about $6,000 — a record for the Foundation.

“The last thing Cody and his dad did together was play golf,” Pilkington said. “They had never played together before.”