A fire alarm went off in Francis Hall at St. Bonaventure University at 7:29 p.m. on Sunday. The security dispatcher contacted 911 and security responded within a couple of minutes.
Security detected smoke and flames coming from the crack under the boiler room door, which is beneath the kitchen in Francis Cafe, said Tom Missel, the interim vice president for University Relations.
“Apparently, it was caused by a defect in the boiler, which had passed inspection within the last year,” said Missel. “It will take some time to determine exactly what the defect was.”
When the fire alarm went off, there were students, including student residents and faculty in the building. During the time, students were working the Bonathon, the student-driven calling program, asking alumni, parents and friends of the university to support the Bonaventure Fund.
“If I’m being honest, I lingered a little bit before leaving the building because I was on the phone with someone, as did a few of my coworkers who were on the phone at the time of the alarm,” said Trevor Carney, a Bonathon employee and junior sociology major. “Everyone else … went outside right away. This meant that many people left items such as keys, phones, backpacks and even laptops inside the room.”
The Allegany Fire Department responded at 7:41 p.m., followed soon after by the Weston Mills Fire Department. New York State Police and the members of the university’s safety and security offices also responded, said Missel.
“We didn’t see any flames as we were in the Bonathon room and only found out there were flames when we were waiting outside, and a member of campus security told us to get further away from Francis,” said Carney.
At 7:53 p.m., a text alert was sent out to campus community members signed up to the E2Campus Alerts system. The alert read: “Avoid East Side of Campus. A fire has been reported in Francis Hall. Please stay aware from the area. Fire department is on scene.”
The fire was extinguished by 8:09 p.m.
At 8:24 p.m., a final text alert was sent out reading: “Fire update. A small boiler room fire in Francis Hall has been put out, but please avoid Francis as Security and firefighters continue investigation.”
Allegany firefighters continued to investigate and inspect the building. All of the departments left campus by 9:50 p.m., said Missel.
Students who lived in Francis were temporarily relocated to the Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott in Olean across the street from campus at the university’s expense, said Missel.
The ductwork in Francis passed inspection on Monday. The safety controls in the building passed Tuesday morning. After both inspections, the backup boiler was activated, allowing heat and hot water to return to the building. Students and university employees were then given the OK to return to Francis shortly after noon on Tuesday, said Missel.
“Staff members in the university’s Advancement and University Relations divisions worked Monday and Tuesday remotely from home or at other locations on campus until Francis was ready to be occupied again on Tuesday afternoon,” said Missel.
Any damage from the fire was contained to the boiler room and no student or employee property was damaged, said Missel.
“Sometimes unforeseeable things happen in facilities. The boiler did pass inspection within the last year, so we could not have anticipated it failing,” said Missel. “What’s important is that the precautions built into the system worked: The alarm system worked, the safety controls on the boiler shut the boiler down when the fire broke out, our Security staff followed proper protocol and our emergency responders in the community did their part to ensure the damage was kept to a minimum.”
When asked about campus security protocol for fires, Missel explained that after any fire alarm goes off on campus, a security dispatcher calls the county 911 and campus security guards check to see if it’s an actual fire or a tripped alarm.
“In either case, they call 911 back as soon as possible to relay the status of the situation,” said Missel. “If it’s a fire, they go through the building as quickly as possible to ensure everyone heeded the alarm and evacuated and then allow the arriving firefighters to do their job.”
The Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company inspects the boiler each year.
By Amber Canbek, News Editor
canbekam16@bonaventure.edu
