Spring Break
Candle Causes $12,000 In Damages
Kelsey Brown
Issue date: 2/9/07 Section: News
A Saturday, Feb. 3 fire at the Connecticut building of Charter Oak Apartments left no one injured, but did enough damage to the building that its occupants had to be relocated by Residential Life (ResLife), according to a press release by the UConn Fire Department.
According to UConn Fire Chief Francis Williams, a candle was lit and left unattended in the four-bedroom apartment. The candle near the wall, and ignited some things that were taped to the wall. The wax then dripped onto a plastic storage container, which also caught fire.
The fire proceeded to spread around the room, causing about $10,000 to $12,000 in damage to the building and some laptops, according to associate director of ResLife Logan Trimble.
The supervisory alarm went off in the room, which notified the fire department. As the fire trucks approached the building they saw the fire and called for backup from the Mansfield and Willimantic Fire Departments, Williams said. Firefighters entered the building but discovered the door to the room was locked, so they had to break through a window. They gained entry just as the sprinklers turned on, Williams said.
"We are very fortunate to have an extremely responsive fire department on campus, to have sprinklers, alarms, heat and smoke detectors in place, and to have the assurance that everything works as it should," Trimble said. "The various elements of fire prevention and rapid response created an environment that was successful in putting out the fire quickly.
According to Williams, there was more damage from water than the fire itself. The sprinkler system releases 25 gallons of water per minute, and by the time the fire department shut off the sprinklers, there were about 50-75 gallons of water in the room, he said.
With the fire and sheer amount of water, the room was ruined, Trimble said. He said it has not been determined what will happen to those responsible or who will pay for the damages.
"Everything worked perfect; the fire alarm worked properly and the building evacuated properly," Williams said, though he stressed that students are not supposed to have candles in their rooms.
According to UConn Fire Chief Francis Williams, a candle was lit and left unattended in the four-bedroom apartment. The candle near the wall, and ignited some things that were taped to the wall. The wax then dripped onto a plastic storage container, which also caught fire.
The fire proceeded to spread around the room, causing about $10,000 to $12,000 in damage to the building and some laptops, according to associate director of ResLife Logan Trimble.
The supervisory alarm went off in the room, which notified the fire department. As the fire trucks approached the building they saw the fire and called for backup from the Mansfield and Willimantic Fire Departments, Williams said. Firefighters entered the building but discovered the door to the room was locked, so they had to break through a window. They gained entry just as the sprinklers turned on, Williams said.
"We are very fortunate to have an extremely responsive fire department on campus, to have sprinklers, alarms, heat and smoke detectors in place, and to have the assurance that everything works as it should," Trimble said. "The various elements of fire prevention and rapid response created an environment that was successful in putting out the fire quickly.
According to Williams, there was more damage from water than the fire itself. The sprinkler system releases 25 gallons of water per minute, and by the time the fire department shut off the sprinklers, there were about 50-75 gallons of water in the room, he said.
With the fire and sheer amount of water, the room was ruined, Trimble said. He said it has not been determined what will happen to those responsible or who will pay for the damages.
"Everything worked perfect; the fire alarm worked properly and the building evacuated properly," Williams said, though he stressed that students are not supposed to have candles in their rooms.
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