Recent fire destroys Science House

By Marisa Kratochvil
Editor-in-Chief

At approximately 12:15 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 24, a fire ripped through the college-owned Science House, located at 325 North 6th Street. Luckily, none of the five residents were inside when the fire occurred.

Monmouth City fire trucks promptly arrived on the scene at 12:25 p.m. after a member of the college’s maintenance staff reported smoke coming from the house, stated Mohsin Masood, associate dean of students.

David Danaher, one of the residents and HR, said, “I felt really helpless standing outside what had become my home, watching it burn. Thanks to God, no one was in the house or injured. But it is an odd feeling to see your house and possessions going up in flames, and nothing you do can change it.”

According to Jackie Condon, vice president for student life, the fire originated in the kitchen, specifically at the stove, and Assistant Fire Chief Brian Morefield stated the cause of the fire is still undetermined.

Upon arriving at the burning house, Evan Tobias, another resident, said, “My room was still up in smoke and it seemed to have gotten the worse of it considering it was right above the kitchen.”
Presently, the house is boarded up, remarked Masood, and is awaiting an inspection by the insurance companies.

The five students affect by the fire are seniors David, Tobias, Don Johnson, junior Luke Morgan and freshman Matthew Danaher.

Currently, they are living together at another college-owned house on 8th Street and have not been allowed to enter the house.

“Within an hour of the fire,” Masood stated, “we opened the house [to them].”

“The college has been wonderful. The three Deans and President Ditzler were at the scene. It was nice because I had no time to be depressed about it, because I had people there to support me from the beginning,” stated David.

Upon losing the majority of their belongings, the college contacted their parents and has also provided each student with linens, toiletries, $2,000 ($400 per person) for clothing and the rest of their immediate needs.

Furthermore, the college is figuring out a way to get them textbooks through the help of professors and fellow students, said Masood.

“I lost basically everything, said David. “Ninety percent of all my clothes were [here], $3,000 set of bagpipes, a Martin guitar, two digital cameras, all of my books, a fiddle, a miniature set of bagpipes and a few irreplaceable items.”

As for Tobias, all of his belongings were in the house.

“I do not keep anything at home,” he said, “it all comes with me. I have tallied it all up and it exceeds $7,000 to replace all of my belongings. But some things ca not be replaced.”

Regarding inspections of the theme houses, Masood commented each house is assessed for damages and repairs at the onset of the academic year by Student Affairs staff and maintenance workers.

In retrospect, no lives were harmed due to the fire and all five residents are doing as well as can be expected.

“For me,” said David, “what I have at the heart of it all is my faith that God will make this work out for the best, it was knowing that the friendships I had with those around me could never be burned and it was knowing that the people on this campus care for us. For the first time in my life, I was able to see how wealthy I really am.”

Matt added, “I just want to thank everyone for being so supportive and helpful. We really needed it.”

For the rest of the student body, Masood commented, “It is a sad thing to happen and I want all of the theme houses to be on the alert; no more than the required amount of people (maximum of 10). We will continue to educate students on fire safety.”