8
Monday, April 27, 1987 / University Daily Kansan
Members and friends of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity as firefighters battle a fire at their house, 1645 Tennessee St. The second floor of the house was damaged extensively by fire yesterday afternoon.
Fire
Continued from p. 1
mation and that the first engine would have arrived five to seven minutes after the call was made.
"You've got to know what's going on before you send your people," he said.
But Darin McAtee, Great Bend junior, said, "I don't think it originated there. I think it originated in the ceiling, and Room 3 got it first."
McSwain said the second floor of the house was severely damaged by smoke and fire. Heat from the blaze melted pipes in a bathroom. But some second-floor rooms with closed doors came out fair, he said. The first floor had water damage.
Some fraternity members speculated that an electrical fault started the blaze in Room 3, on the south side of the building. That has 20 individual rooms for members.
Tom Gray, a representative of the fraternity's alumni board, said the house was completely rewired in 1981.
McAtee said he discovered the fire when he went up to the second floor and saw smoke coming from the ceiling in the hall.
A neighbor who witnessed the fire, Mitchell Ghee, said the fire seemed to start on the south side and spread to the north and west.
He ran downstairs and told Dahl to call the fire department, he said. When he returned upstairs, the hall was full of smoke.
Owens said he and another fraternity member tried to stop the blaze in
"It was so hot in there, you could hardly breathe." he said.
Fraternity copes with finals, housing
By KJERSTI MOEN
Sheldon Moss watched as flames and smoke streamed from the window of his room yesterday afternoon at the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity.
"Everything I own is in that room," said Moss, Lawrence junior. "Every book I own is burned up. My term papers, my car keys, every piece of clothing I own is gone."
Staff writer
Worry over losses and despair about the future were predominant reactions among members of the fraternity, 1645 Tennessee St., which was extensively damaged by fire yesterday.
Fire department officials said that none of the house's 68 members were injured in the fire but that the 39-year-old house was severely damaged.
Unlike Moss, other members managed to rescue some of their belongings.
Jim McSwain, Lawrence fire chief, said, "The news isn't good. We've got extensive smoke and heat damage throughout the second floor."
Mike Driscoll, Omaha, Neb. senior, said, "We had enough time to go through the house as well as we could. A lot of guys grabbed their stuff."
He said fraternity members would go through the house this morning to determine their exact property losses.
Tom Wertz, Sigma Phi Epsilon chapter adviser,
said the fraternity's corporation board's insurance
policy covered the building and everything inside
it. The board said that it does not cover residents' belongings. Wertz said.
McSain said that second-floor rooms with open doors had extensive smoke damage but that rooms with closed doors had come out "fair." The heat in the basement and water heavily damaged the first floor, he said.
"We tell them in their contract they should seek
Sheldon Moss Lawrence junior
'Every book I own is burned up. My term papers, my car keys, every piece of clothing I own is gone.'
to cover their own belongings. But we'll do anything possible to help them out. This is a fraternal organization, after all." Wertz said.
Once members learned that nobody was injured in the fire, they worried about where they would stay last night and how they would finish the latter without their books, term papers and notes.
"That's the big question I have right now. I lost a term paper worth 20 hours," said John Reif, Tulsa, Okla, sophomore. "I don't know what to do. I hope somebody comes through for me."
Jef Softs, Omaha, Neb., junior, said that he,
too, had lost his books and notes in the fire.
"Nobody can study now," Syslo said. "We're just going to have to talk to our teachers and hope and pray. We'll have to start from scratch."
David Ambler, vice chancellor for student affairs, said yesterday that the University of Kansas had no set policy for students' lost academic work in emergency situations and that students individually would have to make arrangements with their teachers.
But he did say that the office of student affairs
would verify for faculty which students were victimized by the fire.
"All we can do is ask that faculty members take that into account and act accordingly," Ambler
He said the University could provide temporary emergency housing and loans for fire victims.
The financial aid office offers emergency loans, but most of those funds are exhausted this late in the semester, he said.
"It's just one of those terrible tragedies that happens. The thing that they're all pleased about is the fact that you're going to have a long,
Sigma Phi Epsilon members will meet at 10 a.m. today to discuss their options for temporary living arrangements. Gray said members wanted to stay with whomver has room for 70 people
Tom Gray, a representative of the fraternity's alumni board, said yesterday that most members would spend the night either with parents, friends or at other fraternities.
Ken Stoner, director of housing, said that his office prepared rooms in McColm Hall and Jayhawker Towers to receive fire victims but that he made other living arrangements for last night.
"We would have taken care of all of them."
If members decide to use University housing, the financial aspects will be worked out later between the fraternity and University offices. Stoner said
in the nice city and university offices. Sister said,
"It's a tragedy. Our first concern is getting everybody taken care of." he said. "We'll worry about other things later."
Kansan reporter Paul Belden contributed information to this story.
Jef Sysso, Omaha, Neb., junior,
said he grabbed a trash can and filled
it with water from a shower near
Room 3 to stop the fire.
But he had to give up after one attempt, he said.
Ten people were in the house when the fire was discovered, fraternity president Jones said. Eight of the house's 68 members live in an annex behind the house, and others, including Jones, were at a football game.
Mike Driscoll, Omaha, Neb,
senior, said fraternity members
cleared out of the house quickly.
Residents checked on their room-
mates and checked the sleeping
dorm, which was empty, he said.
"You yell 'fire,' and everybody
he said. "It didn't take
at all."
Bryan Biehunko, Overland Park sophomore, said members built wood structures in their rooms and had a lot of posters and peg board.
Firefighters battled the blaze in shifts to avoid exhaustion, he said. At one point, the fire threatened to trap firefighters in the house.
McSain said bicycles and other obstacles in rooms hampered firefighters. Four engines responded to the call, he said.
"They had to protect themselves and get out, it was spreading so
quickly," McSwain said.
Yesterday's 90-degree heat made the firefighting even tougher, he said.
"It's like trying to play a basket-
ball with pounds of extra
weight on you," he said.
The fire was under control before 3:30 p.m. "The building will be secured." McSwain said. "There will be somebody there throughout the night."
Residents may be able to return to look for their possessions today, McSwain said. They will meet at 10 a.m. today at the annex behind the house.
Driscoll said said some fraternity members had enough time to go through the house and collect personal belongings. But others said they couldn't save anything from their rooms.
Investigators from the Lawrence fire and police departments, the Douglas County sheriff's department and KU police still must determine the cause of the fire and whether the house had any fire code violations, he said.
McSwain said sororites and fraternities often had fire code violations
"They don't believe us when we tell them to enforce the laws," he said.
Kansan reporter Paul Belden contributed information to this story.
Amv Rhoads/KANSAN
Sigma Phi Epsilon member Brian Driscoll, Omaha, Neb., senior, watches as firefighters extinguish the last of the flames. Driscoll said everything he owned was destroyed in the fire except what he was wearing.
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