Fire and a dramatic rescue
Published: March 31, 2006
Around 3 p.m. yesterday, residents of Clement Hall in the West Neighborhood were roused out of their routines by a fire alarm. Upon evacuating the building, they were stunned to see smoke rising from a third story room. This time, that alarm was no drill. Greenville Fire and Rescue, The ECU Police Department and other emergency services crewmembers arrived on scene within minutes in response to the fire, and what unfolded thereafter resembles a scene from an action film.
After being ushered quickly out of the building, both the residents and gathering crowd of students looked on as firefighters battled the blaze within. Rumors began to fly about the source of the fire, but until the Greenville Fire Department releases its official findings, all anyone can do is speculate.
“We heard that someone had set a mattress on fire,” said Kristie Pope, sophomore political science major and Clement Hall resident.
“The girl’s roommate [whose room had caught on fire] came in, saw the bed on fire and began to yell for help.”
What the crowd did not seem to realize, at least initially, was that on the ninth floor, one Clement Hall resident was stranded.
Rachelle Lowry, freshman, took the screen out of her window in an effort to get to fresh air. The smoke billowed out behind her as firefighters fought their way up, floor by floor, to reach her. Simultaneously, firefighters raised an extension ladder from the back of their vehicle to extract the young lady from the smoldering building.
Lowry received support from two firefighters in the smoky room behind her and a firefighter awaiting her on the ladder as she climbed from the building to the ladder without incident. She was on the ground again within minutes, where she was given oxygen via a mask for smoke inhalation.
Around 3:45 p.m., Ms. Lowry was taken to Pitt County Memorial Hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation.
The other residents escaped Clement Hall without any problems, although, for some, it was a scary experience.
“I had just walked back from class with the girl [whose room had caught on fire], and as soon as I opened the door to the third floor from the stairwell, I smelled smoke,” said Erin Gamble, freshman special education major.
“Someone said there was a fire…smoke flew everywhere!”
Clement Hall closed after the fire. It is predicted that it will open again, at least for some students, sometime today if all goes well.
“The fire damage itself was contained to the room it began in,” said John Durham, university spokesman.
“There is, of course, extensive smoke and water damage throughout the rest of the building.”
Durham confirmed that the room it began in was room 317.
ECU staff members today began working with restoration contractors to prepare the fire-damaged Clement Residence Hall for re-occupancy. It is anticipated that the building will be re-occupied in stages, and the third floor, where the fire began Wednesday afternoon, will be closed longer than the rest of the hall.
The student who suffered smoke inhalation from the fire was treated and released Wednesday evening from Pitt County Memorial Hospital. There were no other injuries. All 335 residents of the hall have been accounted for, and alternate housing arrangements have been made for them until they can return to Clement. University officials will meet with Clement residents at 2 p.m. today for a briefing.
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