A look at the UNC tradition of setting couches on fire on Franklin Street

The University of North Carolina is a school of traditions. Everyone knows about the pregame slides on the court or the dances the team does at Late Night with Roy. 

The most famous tradition, of course, will forever be the rush of Franklin Street — when thousands of UNC students, wherever they currently are, drop everything to rush to the center of Chapel Hill in celebration after winning a national championship or downing cross-town rival Duke. 

In the last 20 years or so, a tradition within that tradition has started to take root. Groups of students have taken it upon themselves to bring old couches, along with other smaller items and set them on fire in the middle of the street. 

And then? Well, they jump over the fire, of course. 

Because students are setting large fires in the middle of tightly packed crowds with thousands of people around, not everyone is happy with the practice. 

"I wouldn't call it a tradition. First and foremost, it is a significant public safety hazard, and it's dangerous," Matt Sullivan, recently retired fire chief of Chapel Hill, said. "It has led to significant injuries over the course of the years that I've been around. I've seen burns, I've seen people scarred for life, because of interactions with bonfires in a crowd." 

Given the size of crowds, Sullivan said people have been pushed into bonfires or have suffered injuries due to smoke inhalation. Plus, many of the people celebrating are impaired by alcohol, which can increase the risk to themselves and those around them.

The fire department does its best to make it clear how dangerous the practice can be with pre-planned safety messaging. Still, UNC students set couches on fire. 

Last year, former DTH assistant sports editor James Tatter planned on being one of those students. In UNC's first matchup against Duke, when Zion Williamson famously blew out his shoe early in the game, Tatter and several housemates started eyeing the old couch that had been sitting in their backyard. 

When it became clear the Tar Heels were going to win, the boys hoisted the couch onto their shoulders and ran to Franklin Street. Before they could light it, they were approached by a firefighter who told them if they set the couch on fire, they'd all be spending the night in jail. 

"That ended that pretty quick," Tatter said. "We did not burn the couch." 

Instead, they tore their shirts and jackets off and set those on fire instead. Soon, a crowd gathered around and contributed their own articles of clothing as well. In that crowd was student body president Ashton Martin, who contributed a scarf to the burning pile.

"I would've given a jacket if it hadn't been so cold," Martin said. 

She said rushing Franklin Street helps build a community within the student body, even among those who don't care about sports. As for the fires, Martin said the practice has become embedded into the rushing Franklin experience and now, students expect it. 

"I don't think it's because people necessarily want to set things on fire," Martin said. "I think it's just a tradition that we all know. And like, I guess we have to set things on fire." 

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