FIRE IN REGAN HALL DISPLACES STUDENTS

BREAKING NEWS…
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2007 5:53 a.m.

Residents of Regan Hall had to change their study and sleep plans early this morning after a trash receptacle caught fire in a second floor lounge. The fire forced the evacuation of the building at about 2:50 a.m. Damage from the fire was not extensive, according to Fr. David M. O’Connell, University president.

Sprinklers were automatically activated as a result of the fire, and the first and second floors of Regan were flooded. The seven rooms closest to the fire were completely flooded.

Three students were in the lounge above the main entrance at the time of the fire. Sophomore Adrian Davis spotted flames through a window in the Regan second floor study room and immediately sprung to action. “First thing I said was ‘Fire!’” said Davis. He knocked on his door and woke his roommate. They went outside and “saw the flames and the smoke, it was really high,” said Davis. Students said that the trash receptacle was originally in the lounge, but it was later moved into the hall.

O’Connell toured the scene and commented that he had seen the receptacle in the center of the hall, directly under a sprinkler. “This happened at the worst possible time,” said O’Connell. Friday is the final day of classes, and exams take place next week.

The Department of Public Safety declined to comment directly following the incident. Thomasine Johnson, the director of DPS, said that their first job was to find residents alternate housing and let the fire department take over.

Several residents called 911 when they heard the alarm. They estimated that the fire department responded within five minutes with an engine and one hook-and-ladder.

By 4 a.m. firefighters had finished and University employees were mopping up the tremendous amount of water that had flooded the bottom two floors. Most of the bottom floor is below ground, which appeared to present a minor challenge to the mop up crew which was utilizing mops and rags to remove the water.

Residents said they believe the fire was started by a lit cigarette or cigar thrown into the plastic trash can by a student who was wandering the halls early this morning.

“We don’t want to have to pay for all of this if it’s just one guy being lazy,” said one student.

After they were evacuated, residents were moved to the study area and recreation room on the first floor of Millennium South and encouraged to find a place to sleep and work “wherever they have friends,” said Lysette Davis, a resident assistant on the bottom floor who was also studying when the fire alarm went off.

Some students chose to sleep on the floor of Millennium South lounge while others got back to their papers.

By 4:30 a.m., residents had already started a Facebook group documenting their ordeal. ” I Survived the Great Regan Trash Can Fire of 2007…And My Laptop Did Too” had four members at press time.

UPDATE: The building will be closed for most of the day. Residents in rooms that were not affected will be allowed into their rooms for a limited amount of time early this morning.

Tower Staff member Ryan J. Reilly contributed to this report.