Bromley residents heated up about fire, no reimbursement
By Jennifer Bak, Staff Writer
March 10, 2008 | 6:32 p.m.
Ohio University students living in Bromley Hall received a nasty surprise Wednesday afternoon when a small fire broke out, triggering the sprinkler system to go off and causing widespread water damage.
The fire, which broke out on the sixth floor, was caused by a heating light in a gecko cage that was obstructed by a piece of cloth. The fire was quickly contained and put out soon after it started, but the ensuing damage was more than students bargained for.
Bromley resident sophomore Michael Kochersperger said he was in class when the fire started and did not find out exactly what had happened until about an hour and a half afterward.
“Water from the sprinklers seeped into the bathrooms and spread from there," he said. "We had about two inches of sitting water on our floor. We had a few things on the floor that were damaged…. We had a rug, guitar tuner and some controllers. There was maybe about $150 worth of damages.”
While Kochersperger was fortunate enough to have only a few damages, some students were not as lucky.
“I saw people carrying everything out of their rooms," Kochersperger said. "One girl was in tears because all of her stuff was ruined.”
There are mixed reports as to whether students will be reimbursed for their damages. Kochersperger said that there appeared to be insurance agents in Bromley on Wednesday inspecting the damages, but the Residence Life staff told students that none of the damages would be reimbursed. Another Bromley resident, who wishes to remain anonymous in case a reimbursement settlement is reached, claimed that the University is looking for reasons not to monetarily cover the damages caused by the flooding.
OU believes that a student who deliberately broke residence hall rules by housing a gecko caused the fire. OU’s Guide to Residential Living states, “For health and safety reasons, pets other than fish can not be kept in the residence halls,” and that if a pet other than a fish is found, the student “will be asked to remove the pet ASAP and may face a B-8 (Violation of Rules Regarding Residence Halls/Dining Facilities) charge as stated in the Student Code of Conduct.”
However, the resident argues, “The fact that sprinklers destroyed everything is their [OU’s] fault.”
There is no word yet on whether the owner of the gecko will be charged with a B-8 charge. The Residence Life staff has also been acting “shady,” according to some Bromley residents.
“They were walking around and asking us if they could help us with anything," the Bromley resident said, "but as soon as we asked about payment or reimbursement, they just walked away and didn’t talk to us.”
Visibly upset by the lack of assistance they were getting from their own Residence Life staffers, some fifth floor residents agreed, “It’s not [the residents’] fault [and] not fair that they won’t be reimbursed.”
The sprinklers on the sixth floor caused water to trickle down as far as some parts of the basement of Bromley. While the standing water was removed from the rooms on Wednesday, the carpeted floors of the fifth floor were still visibly wet more than a day later.
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