Andrew's article

Fire in Franklin Dining Commons

At approximately 12:10 p.m., yesterday, a fire broke out in the Franklin Dining commons. The Franklin Dining commons will be closed indefinitely pending the release of a full and official damage report. The Dean of Students has advised all students to use other dining commons throughout campus until further instructed. Fire dept. officials were unable to comment but will release official information when appropriate.

Tamar Stephenson, the head of campus security, reported that no serious injuries had occurred as a result of the fire. With the fire occurring at such a crowded time in the day, Stephenson’s comment does not eliminate the possibility of unreported, minor injuries.

According to Nicholas Johnson, an eyewitness to the fire’s origin, who was evacuating the dining common; the fire had started at a toaster oven.

This has been the first such incident on campus this semester. However, last spring semester, a small dormitory fire did occur in a hallway, and was attributed to arson.

As always, students are advised to strictly follow campus rules and procedure to prevent any accidents from occurring.

This newspaper will continue to cover the news of this fire until official damage assessments and further instructions are reported.