POTSDAM —  Clarkson University hosted their annual “Mock Dorm Burn” in front of the Educational Resource Center recently.

The mock dorm burn purpose is to show and demonstrate to new and returning students the rapid progression of a fire in a small mock dorm room, according to an online post from the Potsdam Fire Department.

Clarkson University's Fire and Life Safety Specialist, Brian Moulton was on hand to speak to students about knowing two ways out of their dorm room and to take all alarms seriously by evacuating the building in a timely manner.

Once the fire was lit, it was shown how quickly it takes for the room to become "fully involved" in just under three minutes, the department said.

The students were able to feel the intense heat and see the thick black smoke generated by common materials found in dorm rooms.

Once the mock dorm room was at flashover stage the firefighters moved in and extinguished the flames.

“Potsdam Fire would like to thank Clarkson University for their invite to the Mock Dorm Burn and to Brian Moulton for making the demonstration possible.”