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Portable grill causes early morning fire, student still in critical condition
Posted Tuesday, March 22 2005 02:15:03 pm
UPDATED AS OF 5:41 P.M. on WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23
A freshman student is still in critical condition after an early morning fire yesterday at Thurston Hall which also left more than a dozen students out of their dorm rooms.
Kevin McLaughlin has been transfered to the Washington Hospital Center's burn unit from the GW Hospital yesterday. According to University officials, the 19 year-old freshman is in severe critical condition and suffered from burns and respiratory arrest.
As of 5:40 today, no additional news on McLaughlin's condition had been released.
"I’m hoping no news is good news," said Tracy Schario, Director of Media Relations for the university
Fire officials have announced that an open, portable, George Foreman grill led to the fire.
"The speculation is that he was cooking [and] fell asleep. The unit was on the floor and it somehow caught the bedding," said Schario.
Applicances such as George Foreman Grills and toaster ovens are banned in the residence halls due to fire concerns.
McLaughlin, a freshman from Farmington, Conn., was found unconscious in his room, 913, this morning shortly after 5 a.m., said Alan Etter, a spokesman for the DC Fire Department.
According freshman Rachel Gesserman, who lives in room 910, McLaughlin's quad was not full. Previous roomates, she said, moved out or were kicked out over the course of the school year.
According to Schario, one other student lives with McLaughlin.
"His roommate was not present in the dorm last night," she said.
The firefighter who removed McLaughlin from his room was treated and released from Providence Hopsital after complaining of back injuries, said Etter. Another student checked himself into GW Hospital due to breathing problems.
At 12:30 p.m., officials from D.C. Fire Department, including the commissioner of the department, along with the University's Building and Facilities officials toured the ninth floor where the fire took place to assess damage. Following their walk-through, they met with Thurston Community Facilitators to discuss fire saftey and prevention measures, said University spokesman Eric Solomon.
Etter estimated damage from smoke and water at appromixately $10,000.
The alarm was triggered by smoke reaching detectors inside the student's room, said Etter. The smoke that leaked outside of the room triggered the sprinkler system in the hallway. Water damage around the epicenter of the fire spread across the hall and down to the eigth floor.
According to Schario, UPD officers sounded the initial alarm.
Three rooms on the ninth floor and one room on the eighth floor are too damaged for students to return, said university spokesman Matt Nehmer. The university is still looking for other housing options for those displaced students.
Etter said the evacuation "went as smoothly as it could that early in the morning." Many students were sleeping and were awoken by firefighters pounding on their doors.
Gesserman's roomate, Kara Franz, said that she had heard the fire alarm go off early yesterday morning but was not sure if it was worth getting out of bed. "I debated about whether or not to come downstairs until my CF came running around banging on all the doors yelling for all of us to get out and run for saftey," she said.
"I walked out of my door and slammed it shut and saw the smoke down the hall." she added. "I didn't know anything, I just ran."
Students were allowed back into the dorms around 9 a.m. Ninth floor residents were allowed to pick up their belongings for their day and will be allowed back later in the day. Those students in the immedidate vacinity of room 913 were told they would be allowed back into their rooms by tomorrow at the earliest, said Franz.
According to Shario, three of the five damaged rooms will be available today.
University officials have voiced support for the family of the victim, and have put forth options for those affected.
"Our thoughts and prayers go out to Kevin and his family and friends," said GW President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg in a statement released this afternoon. "GW is committed to the safety and security of our students, and we commend the D.C. Fire Department, our University Police Department, our staff, and others on scene for their speedy and professional response to this tragic incident."
According to Schario, University Counseling Center staff have met with affected students, and are open throughout the day for walk-in counseling.
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