Residence hall repaired after December fire
University Housing has repainted walls, changed carpets and replaced a bookshelf after a fire broke out in a residence hall room in Hamilton Complex, forcing an early morning evacuation of the building on Dec. 6.
University freshmen Andrew Byrne and John Gutman were living in the room at the time of the fire. Byrne said he is currently living in an apartment complex near Hayward Field and is now allowed to visit the residence halls. He added that Gutman is living in Bean Complex.
Gutman could not be reached for comment, but Director of University Housing Mike Eyster confirmed that Gutman lives in the residence halls.
The cost to repair fire damage in 109 Spiller was approximately $4,000, Eyster said.
That number is less than one-sixth of the $26,000 cost that Director of Resident LifeSandy Schoonover told Byrne the final toll could be, Byrne said. He added that she gave it only as an example of the high costs of repairing fire damage.
Schoonover said she wasn’t able to talk about any specific conversation with a student, but she did say she remembered a previous residence hall fire that she thought cost about $26,000.
“At the time of the last fire I had absolutely no idea what the cost might be and never said to anybody that it would be that particular amount,” Schoonover said.
Eyster said he didn’t know who gave the initial estimate, and he guessed safety officials may have given the $26,000 figure.
“Oftentimes those estimates are not accurate,” Eyster said.
Eyster said he could not identify who paid for the damages, but he was able to say that University Housing will generally assess who is responsible for damages and bill them.
Byrne said during an interview after the incident that a candle he lit caused the fire. Eyster said lighting a candle in a residence hall room is a violation of housing rules.
Byrne declined to comment on his punishment stemming from the incident or whether he paid the repair costs, but he said he was not aware the repairs cost about $4,000.
Director of Student Judicial Affairs Chris Loschiavo said he was not able to discuss any individual student’s case.
Eyster said the damage to the room was “relatively minor.”
“The reason for that was because an alert student heard the smoke detector and investigated,” Eyster said. “I think they’re caught pretty quickly in residence halls most of the time because people live so close together.”
Eyster said that about a year ago, a fire in a residence hall room caused more property damage. Before that, a similar incident hadn’t occurred for nine or 10 years.
“A fire that actually burns some of the fixtures in the room is pretty rare,” he said.

Jared Paben