News Briefs

Fire Damages Student House; College Forced to Accommodate


During the Spring semester of 1998, several off-campus student houses caught fire, causing housing complications for the students and causing many to question the safety of off-campus housing and students’ living habits. Another fire struck this Tuesday an off-campus house at 26 Locust St., forcing the residents, four Conservatory students, to relocate for four weeks.
Dean of Students Peter Goldsmith said, “On Thursday night we found alternative housing for the students on campus. Nobody was hurt and all their instruments were safe.”
Sue Hiesser, the assistant chief of the Oberlin fire department, said the damage was fairly significant but could have been far worse. “There wasn’t a lot of damage to the actual house itself,” she said. 
Although the damage totaled to around $4,000 worth, most of it was confined to a porch. The fire did spread into the kitchen area of the house, although it was extinguished before it spread throughout the entire interior. “There was smoke damage throughout but the structural damage was in the rear,” Hiesser said.
When asked how the fire started, Hiesser said “I don’t think that’s been released yet.”
Although the students will be forced to live in an alternative housing situation for about four weeks, Hiesser said the damage was repairable and the students should be able to move back into the Locust St. apartment without difficulty. 
- Nick Stillman