Fire Safety at SHU

On Jan. 19, 2000, Seton Hall University sophomores Alvaro Llanos and Shawn Simons woke up to the shrill sound of the Bolin Hall fire alarm. Although initially dismissing it as a prank, they eventually left their room only to be met with an intense wave of heat and smoke, the first signs of what would later be known as one of the deadliest dormitory fires in U.S. history.

“The fire began around 4:30 a.m., spreading out across three couches in the third-floor lounge, and approached temperatures close to 1,500 degrees in less than five minutes,” said Llanos.

While Llanos and Simons were only two out of the 56 who were injured that night, they were still two out of four people who were injured enough to require a lengthy hospital visit due to the severity of their burns.

On Oct. 6, Sacred Heart’s Human Journey Colloquia Series presented “After the Fire: A True Story of Heroes and Cowards,” a documentary and presentation that went into detail about Llanos’s and Simon’s recovery process, as well as investigative insight into the perpetrators who began the fire.

“I did not expect the colloquium to be that emotional,” said sophomore Jillian LaGrega. “Before this, I definitely did not take fire safety as seriously as I should because I had the mindset that it could not happen to me.”

According to the Federal Jeanne Clery Disclosure Act of Campus Crime and Fire Statistics, a report that includes statistics of reported crime and fires on Sacred Heart property within the past three years, there was one fire on Oct. 27, 2020 in Roncalli Hall, but no drills due to Covid-19.

“I do not think everyone takes fire safety seriously, but I do feel that Sacred Heart does provide enough information,” said senior Tyler Dymond. “I know a fire is really rare, but when I stayed in Oakwood there was never a fire drill and no one talked about what we should do if there was a fire.”

While some students have not yet practiced fire drills, there are still prevention systems in place within residence halls both on and off campus.

“Fires do not often occur on our campus, but it is taken very seriously at Sacred Heart,” said Frank Novak, Fire Marshal and Training Coordinator.

 “All residential facilities are protected by sprinkler systems and fire detection devices, and safety equipment is inspected on a regular basis as required by the State of Connecticut fire code. Occasionally, Public Safety will find residents who do not evacuate during a fire alarm and when this is discovered, they are referred to the student conduct process.”

In addition, students can still practice fire safety regardless of whether there is a fire or not in a variety of different ways, including counting the number of doors from the nearest exit or learning which exits are the fastest.

“Fire is not what it looks like on TV,” said Simons. “They make it look very theatrical, but when there is a real fire, it’s complete darkness so when you’re crawling on the floor because there is more oxygen down there and can’t see, you can touch and count the number of doors.”

Simons also said, “We are blessed to be standing in front of audiences across the country, especially young adults who never thought that fire safety isn’t a big thing. I tell people all the time that you’re all going to have different adversities in life, this just happened to be ours and it’s just proof that you can survive anything.”

Colleen Shaffer contributed to this article.

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