Fire and police officials are investigating three attacks of arson which occurred Monday on the campus of Eastern Kentucky University.
The first two fires evacuated 200 students from Dupree Hall and injured two staff members.
“This is a multiple serial arson incidence,” said Richmond Fire Department Public Affairs Officer Corey Lewis. “There is something inherently wrong there.”
The first incident occurred around 11:50 a.m. when someone lit a roll of toilet paper and threw it down a trash chute in Dupree Hall, a 11-story dormitory which houses 200 male students.
The chute extends throughout the structure, Lewis said.
“The chute goes from top to bottom,” he said. “At the bottom is large pile of rubbish.”
EKU’s utility personnel managed to extinguish the fire, said Marc Whitt, associate vice president for public relations at EKU.
“No one was injured and there was no smoke or fire damage to the building,” Whitt said. “The Richmond Fire Department was called to the scene to make sure the fire was out.”
Firefighters encountered smoke conditions on numerous floors, Lewis said. They ventilated the dorm and made sure the building was evacuated, Lewis said.
“The chute acts like a chimney,” Lewis said. “That could have made this fire extremely dangerous.”
Just two hours later, a 911 call was received from Dupree Hall again.
Lewis said the fire department responded to the report of a pull station activation on the fifth floor.
“Upon arrival, Richmond firefighters were made aware of a possible rubbish fire,” Lewis said. “Richmond firefighters reported smoke conditions again on numerous floors. Debris was found burning in the stair well between the seventh and eighth floor.”
Whitt said that the second arson was a result of “burning phone books that were found in a stairwell” in Dupree Hall.
“Once again, everyone in the building was evacuated and the fire extinguished,” Lewis said. “Firefighters ventilated the residence hall and performed a room-to-room search to ensure no other fires were burning at that time.”
Two custodians for EKU were treated at the scene of the second fire.
“Two faculty service personnel were treated at the location for smoke inhalation and later taken to Pattie A. Clay Regional Medical Center for treatment of non-life threatening injuries,” Lewis said.
At 8 p.m., firefighters were called to extinguish a third fire they believe to be linked to the two earlier attacks, Lewis said in a press release.
The fire was at the Powell Building, but other details were not released at press time.
The fires are being investigated by the EKU Police Department, the Richmond Fire Department and the Kentucky State Fire Marshals office.
Whitt said there are no suspects.
“Not only was it an inconvenience for the students, someone was injured,” Lewis said. “We are concerned. Arson is a violent crime that kills and injures innocent civilians and firefighters every year. We will take action against anyone we believe to have committed this crime.”
West Coast 911 firefighting news source – The Richmond Register
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