The University Record, May 20, 1998
Law Quad fire causes $200,000 in damages
By Rebecca A. Doyle
An early morning fire on May 9 sent residents at the Law Quadrangle out of their rooms and caused an estimated $200,000 in damage. (Extreme heat raised the damage estimate from the original $80,000 to a current figure of $200,000.)
Department of Public Safety (DPS) and Risk Management personnel are continuing to investigate, although a preliminary investigation blames the blaze on a candle or small appliance and lists the fire as accidental.
Students in the A, B and C wings of the residential section were roused from their sleep at 3 a.m. that Saturday morning and evacuated by DPS and Housing personnel. Three students were treated and released from the hospital after suffering smoke inhalation.
The fire caused some students to lose papers or data just one week before scheduled exams. Students were urged to contact professors and make arrangements to delay or reschedule exams or papers that were due.
Of the 41 students who were evacuated, 12 were relocated in other available rooms in the Law Quad. The rest returned to their own rooms.
DPS Capt. James Smiley reports that there was heavy smoke and heat damage to the building, but the fire itself was contained in one room because of the cement, tile and brick composition of the building. The intense heat, however, caused windows to shatter and crack and may have caused cracking in some of the limestone.
