By: Amaris Gutjahr

On Friday October 11 at 3:39 am, an email was sent out to inform Wesleyan students about a fire that was detected around 2:00 am in the Benedum Campus Center. 

Vice President for Student Affairs Alison Whitehair said that the fire started in two separate places within the Benedum Campus Center’s first floor. “One of the fires started in a trash can, but we don’t know for sure if the other one originated in another trash can,” Whitehair said. Whitehair said that one fire started near Sunny Bucks, a study lounge room to the far left. The other one started in a trash can to the left of the post office. 

The areas made inaccessible by the incident include the elevator, radio station, Sunny Bucks, and the post office. Although the fire did some damage, Whitehair said that “there was mostly water damage from the sprinkler systems.” This was probably due to the sprinkling systems not being turned off right away because a key was needed to get in. That said, the sprinkler systems worked amazingly well. “The sprinklers put out the fire completely. The fire department didn’t even have to do anything,” Whitehair said. 

“Campus security officers were the first ones on scene and dialed 911,” Whitehair said. “The fire department responded and were at the scene within 10 minutes,” Whitehair estimated. Other campus personnel and administration arrived later due to distance from campus. The fires are suspected arson, but the causes and circumstances of them are still unknown. “The investigation has been turned over to the fire marshal and the local police,” Whitehair said. 

Whitehair said that Wesleyan takes fire safety very seriously. “The college has an emergency action plan and meets with the fire department every year. They (the college) met with the fire department about the incident,” Whitehair said. Wesleyan College is taking steps to prevent similar problems in the future. “Additional investments in fire and safety are being made. One of these will be knox boxes placed outside of campus buildings,” Whitehair said. Knox boxes are secure boxes that hold keys to buildings such as campuses, residences, and commercial properties. Fire departments and emergency personnel can use these boxes to access keys in case of an emergency. “These boxes are secure and only fire departments have the right tools to access them,” Whitehair said. 

Whitehair said that the knox boxes should be installed within the next few weeks. Hopefully another emergency will not take place before then.

Photo by Alison Whitehair