photo by Amanda Pitts

A group of students at Grand Valley spent the summer fighting flames — that they created.

Justin Mitchell, pictured, is one of three students majoring in occupational safety and health management who work at Grand Valley's Facilities Services office. The group developed a fire safety training program and performed safety inspections on the more than 3,000 fire extinguishers located in buildings throughout the university. 

The students trained staff members and other students on fire safety and protocol. A special fire extinguisher simulation unit was used to recreate real-life scenarios, giving new meaning to the phrase "trial by fire."