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Friday, September 27, 2002
Here is the news report on the dorm fire... "enjoy"... West Quad fire may have been intentional By Jeremy Berkowitz and Maria Sprow, Daily Staff Reporters September 27, 2002 A small blaze in a West Quad Residence Hall restroom forced residents to evacuate their rooms for approximately two hours late Wednesday night and into the early hours of yesterday morning and is now being investigated as an arson. The fire alarm was pulled by a student at 11:51 p.m. after he smelled smoke coming from a men's restroom in the hall's basement. Department of Public Safety Lt. Robert Neumann said the fire originated from a soap dispenser in the restroom. The dispenser was consumed and some damage to the surrounding area was reported but no cost estimate was available yesterday, Neuman added. "There was smoke in the hallway and the responding housing officer obtained a fire extinguisher and extinguished the fire," Neumann said. "Nobody was seen in the immediate area at the time the fire was discovered." But fire inspectors from both the University and the Ann Arbor Police Department ruled the fire to be intentional because there was nothing present at the scene that could have sparked an accidental fire. There are no known suspects and the incident is still under investigation. DPS is asking for students with any information to call the department. "We are looking for anybody who may have seen any specific activity in that area," Neumann said. If or when a suspect is found, he or she would face charges for arson of an occupied dwelling. The crisis is punishable with up to 20 years in a state prison. There is no specified minimum punishment or sentence, he added. Engineering freshman David Arft said that he first noticed the fire before midnight when he and his friends were watching a movie. They overheard somebody walking down the hall say he smelled smoke. "As soon as I stepped out of the hall, there was a burning plastic smell," said Arft, who lives in the basement of Wenley House in West Quad, near the fire's origin. The fire alarm sounded shortly after, and Arft and his friends evacuated the room, telling their friends and fellow residents that unlike many fire alarms that go off, this one didn't appear to be an accident or joke. "We stepped outside of my room and a couple people ran by, saying that it was real," said LSA sophomore Dan Feldman, who also lives in the basement of Wenley House. Rumors of what happened spread throughout the crowd during the next several hours, Feldman said. "We got some word to be patient for just a little bit longer," he said. "What can you do? There is a fire going on. ... If the bathroom is burning, they got to do what they got to do."
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