Are University of Houston students smarter than a fire marshal? How much do they know about emergency management?

These questions were the seed that sprouted the idea for Fire & Life Safety Technician Sara Walker and Emergency Management Specialist Maia Solomon to interview students at the Behind the Badge event in late August.

“I’m supposed to do an off-campus fire safety class, and I thought it would be really fun to include the students in a video they would watch themselves,” said Walker. “I felt the perfect event to do that would be an event where there’s safety and students at the same time.”

The duo pressed students and staff at the community-driven event to answer questions on their knowledge of fire safety, emergency management, and pop culture-related questions.

Walker and Solomon interviewed 20 Behind the Badge attendees, and while the duo hoped to stump students, the pair were pleasantly surprised with students’ knowledge of fire safety and emergency management.

“People definitely know more than we thought they would,” said Solomon.

Director of Emergency Management Ginger Walker said the video marked a fun way for these two Campus Safety departments to get out into the community and engage with students.

The two innovative awareness videos, ‘Are You Smarter Than a Fire Marshal’ and ‘Ask College Students Questions,’ will be released on the respective department’s social media accounts.

Graphics by kathy fieldcamp