Blaze leaves room ruined

A fire broke out Friday morning in 229 Ehringhaus Residence Hall, destroying the room — and bringing the Department of Housing and Residential Education under fire itself.

No one was in the room when the fire started, and no one was injured. One member of the suite was present, but she quickly evacuated after the fire alarm sounded.

The fire was contained to the room, but smoke damaged the other rooms in the suite.

“As soon as I stepped out of my suite, I was shocked to see this black wall of smoke absolutely pouring out of their suite door,” said junior Jeff Alexander, who lives on the second floor of Ehringhaus.

The cause of the fire is still uncertain, but some officials have pointed to the possibility of faulty electrical wiring in the building.

“The investigation is still underway, but the suspicion is that it was an electrical fire,” said Larry Hicks, director of the Department of Housing and Residential Education.

The room sustained what Hicks described as “a total loss.”

All eight suite members have been relocated to different rooms for the remainder of the semester because of the damage.

“The stuffed animal that I’ve had since I was 1 years old is gone,” said Elizabeth Schillo, a resident of the room. “Everything just burnt up.”

Schillo said there were two fires in her room earlier this year at separate times.

Investigations into a fire that occurred in the room last October showed no evidence of faulty wiring, Hicks said. The fire was attributed to problems with a surge protector.

But Schillo said UNC made no thorough investigation into the October fire.

“We told Fix My Room about it,” she said. “But they just came and said everything was fine.”

Schillo also said there was another fire in the room that destroyed some furniture. She said that she reported the fire to her resident assistant and that residence hall officials didn’t take action.

“Nothing happened, and nothing was paid for,” Schillo said. “Now my entire room is gone.”

The University is only responsible for reimbursing students for lost belongings if an investigation proves negligence on the part of the school, Hicks said.

Otherwise, the students have to handle claims with their own insurance companies.

Schillo said that if her insurance does not cover the fire, she plans to sue the University for negligence.

“It’s just absolutely ridiculous,” she said.

“These dorms are just too old to risk waiting around for something like this to happen.”

Hicks stressed that the cause of the fire is not yet certain. He said he could not remember the last time a fire this large occurred in a campus residence hall.

“This is a unique situation for us,” he said. “We’re going to make sure we do a thorough investigation — not just of the electrical wiring, of everything.”

Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.