Twenty-three students left homeless after two fires in one night.
September 9th, 2009 was more than just the first day of school in Lennoxville. Throughout the evening and into the night, fires ravaged two apartment buildings, leaving 23 students homeless.
An electrical fire broke out at 3053 College Street around 9 p.m., affecting several Bishop’s and Champlain College students, some who were forced to escape via their balcony. Six were displaced, but able to return at a later time to reclaim their effects.
The second fire, ignited by a candle, tore through the Speid Street apartments above the Korvette store around 1:40 a.m. 17 students were left homeless. No major injuries were reported.
The buildings were released to their owners soon after, but the apartments on Speid Street are a write off. According to La Tribune, the damages were originally estimated at $2 million. The apartment building, including the Korvette located below, remain cordoned off with yellow tape as crews pick through the charred rubble. While it was originally thought that nothing remained, an international student at Bishop’s was lucky to have her passport returned to her, found among what was left of her things.
A source close to the management of the Korvette building said that they are not sure what the future holds for it. They are awaiting the closing of the investigation before any decisions are made.
Those affected by the fire at 3053 College fared a little better. While they will have to deal with smoke and water damage, they didn’t lose absolutely everything. They were able to get back into their apartments and collect the things they needed.
Following the blaze, the University released a statement noting that eight of the 23 students affected by the two fires were staying in Paterson Hall. All were offered $120 vouchers to Zellers or Wal-Mart from the Red Cross, meal cards for Dewhurst Dining Hall, and $200 emergency loans from the Business Office. In the whirlwind week following the fires, many students signed leases for new apartments.
Bishop’s Dean of Student Affairs, Bruce Stevenson, said that the school held five meetings for the students in the two weeks following the fires. The idea behind these meetings was to give the students a forum to voice any concerns or issues they were having, and to find a solution to that problem with the help of the administration.
After the fourth meeting on September 16th, Stevenson said, “Not a lot of people came to the meeting today, only three students showed up, so I’m getting the feeling that they’re probably doing okay … Everybody is being quite independent about getting themselves back on their feet.”
David McBride, Director of University Advancement, said, “I have been incredibly impressed by the students affected. They’ve really dealt with this in an incredible way. Most of them have lost everything, and they’ve been so resilient.”
The school has been accepting donations of money, clothing, furniture and food to distribute to the students. Nearly $10,000 has been raised since the campaigns began the morning following the fires; roughly $3,200 of that total was raised in small change by students on campus.
“How the community rallies always does my heart good. You should see the bags of clothes, food and things that have come in. We have the Blue Room [in Mackinnon Hall] full of stuff,” Stevenson added.
The displaced students have been given a form to fill out that will help the administration divide the money accurately, with more going to students who suffered the biggest losses. The exact details of the distribution format will be decided, likely with the input of those involved, before the money is supplied.
The same system worked well in 2003 when 39 students were left homeless following a devastating fire in the Familiprix apartment building.
When asked why school was so involved with an off campus tragedy, McBride said, “This is the Bishop’s community, we do what we can to make sure [everyone is] in a safe environment.”
He noted that many parents of victims had contacted them to express gratitude for all the help their children were being offered throughout this trying situation. “It made me very proud to be a part of Bishop’s, watching the way [everyone] rallied,” he said.
“At the end of the day let’s remember the most important thing: everyone got out.”
