The fire that evacuated an Ohio University residence hall early yesterday morning was attempted arson, officials have determined.
Firefighters responded to a call at True House, 132 S. Green Drive, at about 4 a.m. yesterday. Several hours later, they announced that they had ruled out accidental causes.
A chair was set aflame on the building’s first floor. Despite being contained to one room, the fire caused heat and smoke damage to several areas, according to a news release.
“There’s going to be smoke damage for individual rooms,” Athens Fire Capt. George Klinger said.
Residents were sent to Atkinson House while firefighters worked to clear the smoke.
Several students will be relocated for a few days because of smoke damage to their rooms, said Shane Cartmill, public information officer for the Division of State Fire Marshal.
“There was no one injured,” Cartmill said. “The fire-alarm systems did activate as they were supposed to.”
Detectives from the Division of State Fire Marshal and the Ohio University Police Department are coordinating an investigation of the fire.
Because the incident is being investigated, officials are not releasing information about how it was set, according to the news release.
Investigators have finished examining the area but do not yet have a cost estimate for the damage sustained.
“The area is still a crime scene,” said OUPD Chief Andrew Powers. “The only people who have been there are from the police department.”
Cartmill and Powers said they couldn’t comment on how the fire started or whether there are suspects.
A Blue Ribbon Arson Reward of up to $5,000 is being offered for information about the fire’s cause. Anyone with information can call the Division of State Fire Marshal at 1-800-589-2728 or OUPD at 740-593-1911.
“Obviously, someone knows something about this fire, and we would hope that if somebody has information about it or the person responsible feels they can come forward, we want them to do so,” Cartmill said. “It’s extremely important we take care of these cases quickly.”
Dean of Students Ryan Lombardi spoke at last night’s Student Senate meeting about the fire and said he hopes students with information about the fire will take it to OUPD.
“My day started at 4 a.m. today,” Lombardi said. “We need to take ownership of our community. There is awful stuff that happens here every night, and I’m tired of seeing it.”
— Taylor LaPuma contributed to this article.
rm279109@ohiou.edu
