Early morning roof fire at JBKO
MAY 30, 2006 — JBKO Residence Hall was evacuated early this morning as fire crews hosed down its roof after flames and large amounts of smoke started to rise from the outdoor deck. There was minimal damage to the roof and residents returned to their dorms a little more than an hour later.
University Police did not release an official cause for the fire as of 2:00 a.m.; their spokesperson, Chief of Campus Police Dolores Stafford, was away.
The fire occured in the northwest corner of the JBKO roof. Smoke and flames rose from the roof, according to evacuated summer residents. A sizeable chunk of the roof’s wood panelling was destroyed in the fire, which was quickly contained by massive amounts of water. Except for that section of the roof, the rest of the deck is stable.
In February, a fire erupted outside Duques Hall after an active ciagrette butt rolled underneath newly installed tiles between Duques and Funger. It is unknown if cigarettes played a role in the JBKO roof fire; however, the minimal damage done and the potential reaction a cigarette butt would have with old, dry wood indicates that a spark of some sort triggered the fire.
Fire trucks arrived after 12:30 a.m., according to residents of the dorm. About six or eight trucks responded to the scene and began hosing the roof to quell the smoke. The fire was controlled quickly, said residents. Puddles of water made their way into the stairwells. There was no other visible damage to any other part of the building.
Summer residents began moving into JBKO on Sunday during the first wave of summer housing. Many of the evacuated residents were on their way to bed in preparation of their first work day on Tuesday.
“This doesn’t happen often, does it?,” asked one student from the University of Pittsburgh.
In March 2005, a fire, apparently caused by a student’s electric grill, destroyed rooms on the top floor of Thurston Hall and left that student with severe burns. The top floor of Thurston was also a smoking floor and permitted students to smoke in their rooms.
The University has since instituted a smoking ban within all residence halls, which went into affect this year. In the fall, the University will install signs at all university buildings urging smokers to stand 50 feet away from the entrance.