We need some thoughts and prayers here

Elwood · January 16, 2003

I just recently got in from a very busy evening. As I sat down to watch one of my favorite shows on ESPN, PTI I heard "1050 North Tower, we have a fire!!!" come across the two-way radios we use for my job here on campus. 1050 means anybody who can come help come right now. I left at 5:30p.m. and arrived about a minute, after sprinting across campus to the dormitory they said it was in.

I got back just a short while ago. I spent much of my time helping with crowd control while the firemen did their jobs, and the staff of that building made sure it had been evacuated. After about 2 1/2 to 3 hours of that I spent about 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours helping girls find out what rooms could be used tonight and what ones could not, what problems there were in the rooms that could be used, and helping to arrange accomodations for those who couldn't return to their rooms. It was very hard seeing the reaction of the girls who saw their rooms and saw they had lost everything, and it was also hard trying to deal with the girls who had been gone when it started and returned to find their building on fire, or had been on fire.

I also helped to load in blankets and comfort kits from the red cross for the girls who could not return to their rooms tonight. It was a very stressful and busy evening for our entire housing staff on campus, and for everyone effected by this.

Unfortunately the fire was caused by the girls breaking a rule we have for no candles in the dorms. A candle fell on a pillow and ignited it. Many people spent alot of hours in the cold tonight in order to make things go as smoothly as possible for the residents and the firemen who risked their lives fighting this fire. One of the older fireman told me and my boss that it was the hottest fire he had been involved with in his 15-odd years doing this.

There was only one injury as a result of the fire, to the fire cheif who fell about 12 feet from the ladder, b/c it slid on the icy concrete. However four girls lost everything they had, and many more suffered water and smoke damage to some of thier stuff.

What an end to our first day of classes here. I am off to bed now, because I am completely drained physically and mentally and I have an 8a.m. class tomorrow.

Please keep these people in your thoughts and prayers the next few days. Thanks.