Small fire in Wilson Hall leads to evacuation
Sasha Solomonov - March 12th, 2008On March 5 a fire broke out on the third floor of Wilson Hall at approximately 4:15 a.m.
Five fire safety trucks were sent onto the scene with nearly 20 firefighters working to extinguish the flames and remove the smoke.
Captain Mark Johnson of the Flagstaff Fire Department said the units gave a standard response to the assignment, one that was called into the 911 center.
“When we got on the scene, evacuation was already in progress,” Johnson said. “There was a fair amount of smoke on the third floor and a moderate amount of smoke on the second floor.”
Johnson said the fire was contained to the room and its contents. He described the damage as “pretty minimal,” with just a portion of the bed and desk in the aforementioned room burned by the fire. Johnson estimates the damage would cost between $1,000 to $2,000.
The resident of the room was awoken by the smoke detector and quickly vacated the building. The fire alarm in Wilson, along with residence hall staff, evacuated the remainder of the residents.
“My roommate woke me up screaming in my ear telling me to get out of the building because there was a fire,” said Robert Bircz, a sophomore biology major.
Bircz also lives on the third floor of Wilson. Although he was on the opposite wing of where the fire was taking place, Bircz said he could see and smell the smoke.
“I thought it was the fire alarm because that’s what it usually is, but then I saw smoke so I knew it was a real fire,” Bircz said.
While fire crews set up ventilation fans and extinguished the fire, Bircz and his friends walked to Allen Hall.
According to a press release from the fire department, residents were relocated to either Sechrist, Reilly or Allen Halls.
Johnson said it took only 10 minutes to extinguish the fire, but it took over an hour to remove the smoke and make sure there were no hot embers.
Periodically, a member of the fire department would visit the lobbies of the freshmen dorms that Wilson residents were relocated to and give updates on the progress of fire removal.
While no one was injured by the fire, Bircz said he was concerned about his property.
“I was kind of worried that the sprinklers would go off and then there’d be water damage,” Bircz said.
At approximately 5:30 a.m. the residents of the first two floors in Wilson were permitted re-entrance; however, the third floor residents were not allowed entry until approximately 6 a.m.
An investigation is currently being conducted to assess the cause of the fire.
“There’s a lot of rumors going on, but no one knows for sure,” Bircz said. “Someone said their TV caused an electrical fire, but I don’t know how true that is. Some people said they were smoking in there, but I don’t think that was true.”
While residents are waiting to hear what the actual cause was, Johnson urges students to focus on the factors that prevent fire damage or injury.
Johnson stressed the importance of working smoke detectors and fire safety in general.
“He did have a working smoke detector and that situation could have very easily gone in the other direction,” Johnson said.