Damage contained in weekend fires

Sprinklers put out Kiewit Hall blaze

By Katie Ryan
Special Section Editor

While it is not uncommon for Kiewit Hall to be bustling with activity on the weekend, last Saturday morning was extra hot.

A fire was caused by a desk lamp that fell onto a mattress and caught the sheets on fire. Residents evacuated after the fire alarm sounded, said Cindy Workman, Creighton University spokesperson.

By the time Public Safety arrived at 1:24 a.m., the fire had been extinguished by the sprinkler system, Workman said. The Omaha Fire Department was called and arrived at 2:48 a.m. to investigate the building and make sure it was safe for re-entry. Students returned to their rooms sometime between 4:30 a.m. and 5:30 a.m., she said.

In the meantime, students were escorted to Swanson and Gallagher Hall lobbies and Deglman basement, said Kristin Daniels, Arts & Sciences freshman and Kiewit resident. Students watched TV, talked and played games, and many slept, she said, while resident advisers gaurded the stairs and elevators to ensure that Kiewit residents didn’t wander the halls.

The Kiewit staff and the Enviromental Services crew did a great job, said Sarah Rappard, Kiewit resident director.

When the fire alarm was pulled, Daniels was in her ninth floor room, which was just down the hall from the fire.

Daniels initially thought, based on noises she heard, that a student was intoxicated and needed care. When she heard the fire alarm, she evacuated, joining a crowd of about 490 residents.

“A lot of students weren’t expecting to be evacuated from the building,” Rappard said.

Most of the students thought it was a joke, Daniels said, until they could see the flames in the window and the water from the sprinklers dripping down the side of the building. On-lookers could also see the smoke escaping the window, she said.

Several of her neighbors called other ninth floor residents to make sure everyone made it out safely, said Rachel Verbout, Arts & Sciences freshman.

She said the residents on her floor weren’t allowed to return to their rooms until about 6:30 a.m. because Environmental Services and Residence Life had to clean up the mess and assess damages.

Verbout said when she was allowed back to her room she and others helped clear everyone’s belongings and clean up.

A total of eight residents, including Verbout, spent the remainder of the night at the former Park Inn hotel on 30th and Chicago streets. Verbout and four others have returned to their rooms, but three remain in the hotel and two are in Swanson, Rappard said.

Roof fire scares dozens at Lofts

By Katy Jenkins
Assistant Scene Editor

The same weekend Creighton fought a residence hall blaze, the Old Market Lofts also had a fire.

The roof of the building on 10th and Jones Streets caught fire Friday night at approximately 11 p.m. Flames approached 25 feet.

“The alarms never even went off,” said Arts & Sciences senior and Lofts resident Heather Bockert. “My friend and I heard all the fire trucks, and it sounded like they were right outside the building. We heard the fire chief yelling that everyone needed to evacuate, but we had no idea how bad the situation really was. I was shocked when I saw the flames.”

It is speculated that a grill sparked onto the deck and ignited the wood.

“The entire deck is made of wood, and the grills are connected to a gas line,” said an Omaha Police Department officer. “When the firemen went up there, the grills were red hot.”

Although the fire department was able to extinguish the flames quickly and prevented fire damage to the inside of the building, the water damage was inevitable and detrimental for many people.

No one was reported injured after the incident, although several residents were forced to move.