I am sorry but the person who said this should never have been brought on this Site is Wrong!:mad:

It has to be brought up on this Site.

This is a Greek Web Site and This is how we learn things.
Hopefully we as Greeks learn from each other from tradgidies like this and/or things that are posotive.

Do We as a Greek Community Feel Heart Broken by this, Yes We do! Never forget it! This is a lose to us all no matter what name it is!

They in a part are one of us.:)

Prayers to The Family and Brothers of ATO.

Its been confirmed. That my neighbor, Jordan Willams, was one of the guys that died. I am in shock right now. Growing up Jordan was my younger brother's best friend. Anyways, please send prayers to Jordan's family. Jordan was an only child. If anyone like the address for Jordan's family, pm me and I will give it to you.

I am in shock as is my neighborhood, with only 12 houses we all knew jordan and I have grown up with him.

I will update you all if I hear about funeral arrangements or anything else. Pm if you have any questions.

Here is the link confirming that it is Jordan.

http://www.wsbtv.com/news/3687546/detail.html

I am so sorry mmcline!

You will certainly be in my prayers as well.

:( :( :(

Hardest to lose is a close friend!:(

A young life to soon snuffed out.

If you need help from friends, you have plenty on GC!

My heart goes out to all the ATO's and their families and friends. Thoughts and prayers to Ole Miss's greek community.

I'm so sorry, mmcline. It's a tragic situation to start with and it hits a little harder when someone from here was friends with one of the young men. My thoughts are with you and your neighbors now, too.

OleMissGlitter, God bless you for the help that you're giving those in need right now.

How awful. My condolences to the brothers of ATO, the members of the Greek community at Ole Miss and mmcline who personally knew one of the boys. :( This is really sad. I have prayed that everyone, including the familes of the young men lost, will be able to find some comfort in this tragic time.


.....Kelly :(

mmcline, my thought are with you and your neighbors right now. I'm so sorry this happened.

This is heartbreaking:

"The ATO house was cited for several items that needed correction in its inspection. The least of these, including improperly placed furniture and light bulbs that needed replacement, had been corrected, said Chancellor Robert Khayat.

The remaining items were to be addressed in a meeting scheduled for 7 a.m. between Max Miller, ATO adviser, and contractors.

The list included items such as proper functioning of fire extinguishers in the basement and on the second floor. Two of the bodies were found in the basement of the house, and the third was found on the second floor.


-From the The Daily Mississippian

Being from MS, and knowing dozens of people at Ole Miss, I feel for everyone up there.

My thoughts and prayers going out to the all the families, families and greek community involved with the such horrific tragedy. :(

This is so horribly sad. My thoughts and prayers are with the men of ATO who lost their brothers. I hope they find strength in each other to make it through this. :(

Thanks everyone..

My brother is taking this really hard. He and Jordan had grown apart this past year or so, but still he and jordan were best friends from the age of 6 on, so even though they rarely talked anymore, he still has lost a friend.

Its even more tragic, Jordan had an off campus apartment and did not actually live in the house. But apparently was staying in the house because of recruitement.

I feel for Jordan's mom. I happened to be at home yesterday picking up some things, I go to school in AL. and as I was leaving last night I saw Jordan's mom walking as she always does and she smiled and waved at me. Its so hard to know that just hours later her life changed.

Anyways, thinks for the well wishes everyone has sent to the neighborhood, myself and Jordan's family.

I am praying for the other familes who lost a son, brother, friend. So many lives were tragically affected this morning, so prayers for anyone who is hurting or in pain right now b/c of this aweful fire.

mmcline we are praying for your brother...

this is an email everyone on campus got a few minutes ago:
Today has easily been one of the worst days in recent memory here at Ole Miss. This morning's tragedy at the ATO fraternity house and the untimely death of three students has been a shocking blow to our student body. We all join the men of ATO in mourning the loss of their friends and brothers.
I ask you as students to keep this fraternity, and everyone associated with it in your thoughts and prayers.

Clearly, this is a time for the students of this University to unite in their support for these men. A tragedy like this must be met with support, prayer and love. Many of you have already donated your time and personal belongings to support these men. Thank you. We as a University community need to continue embracing this group.

Keeping this in mind, I ask you to join me tonight for a prayer meeting at Paris-Yates Chapel. This come-as-you-are meeting will begin at 6:00 PM, and it will be a time of prayer, scripture, and support. The University Counseling Center and Campus Ministers will remain on hand until 10:00 PM to help us deal with this tragedy. Out of respect to ATO, we ask that you please leave all cameras, recorders, and other media items at home.

Again, please keep ATO, its members, their friends, and their families in your prayers.

Sincerely,

Gordon Fellows, ASB President

This is very sad. :(No one has ever died in a fire in the US where the structure had a working sprinkler system.

mmcline, I'm so sorry for the loss of your friend and neighbor Jordan. I'll keep him and his brothers and your brother in my prayers. I also extend my sympathy to the Ole Miss community. What a tragedy. :(

Oh my goodness....reading all of these posts, articles, and seeing all of these pictures has given me the chills and is making me sooooo sad. Please know mmcline and olemissglitter that the greek community around the world is here for you in a time like this. I pray that the families and friends of the ones lost and the entire Ole Miss community make it through this difficult time with love and strength.

Tragic
 

This is a tragic event that hurts deep inside. My heartfelt condolence to the friends, family and brothers of ATO. I know lot of ATO's and they are a bunch of good guys. I wish the fraternity the best in holding their heads up and moving forward in life. God Bless.

That's so sad, I saw it on the Yahoo website......

Hopefully positive things will be done so they didnt die in vain.....

I hope the university will take action and help implement fire safety protocols and provide sprinkler system.......

It such a shame...... I hope this never happens to anyone again
:(

i am so sad about this. i really hope that the families and friends of these young men will be ok. they will definately be in my thoughts. and mmcline, i will be thinking about you and your neighbors too. what a sad day!

Sign condolences
 

There is a place on the ATO national web site to leave a note of condolence on this terrible tragedy.

http://www.ato.org/ATO/INTERACT/GBMAIN.asp

My heart goes out to to all Ole Miss students, and especially the ATO fraternity members. I remember the Greeks there being supportive of one another. I know they will take care of each other now. :'-(

Patti
Ole Miss, 1979

how terribly sad...
my thoughts and prayers are with the families and the chapter members.

I am an Ole Miss alum and word traveled quickly to the members of our Ole Miss family. This is just so hard to heard and I really want to know the cause of the fire. Everyone had been really looking forward towards the first football game but I could see it being rescheduled like the one nearest 9/11. The ATO house is within eyeshot of the stadium and people usually park all around that area. I am not sure how the university will handle it.

Yesterday evening, I attended the vigil at The Paris-Yates Chapel on campus. It was a very solemn time and the men of ATO were there and I have never been so sad in my entire life. One of the men who died, Will Townsend, I met him a few times this summer through some of his alumni and he was a wonderful man, like all of the men who perished in the fire. However, it is so sad because Will went back into the ATO house to save his brothers. Will was the sort of guy who made you feel good, he made you laugh, and he had a head on his shoulders. (His father was also an ATO at Ole Miss)

There was also a candlelight vigil walk on campus last night that the Kappa Sigma's help sponsor and it was a very sad time. Today it is raining here in Oxford. On all of the local news channels last night the story was their top story...everytime I watched a different channel report (some were delayed because of the Olympics) I had to cry again.

The ATF is here to investigate and they said they should know what the cause of the fire was as soon as possible.

As far as the football game goes next weekend, I have not heard about it being cancelled yet but I can assure the spirits of Ole Miss alumni, students, and fans will not be the same next weekend.

I've lived in Oxford for 8 years (6 were for school) and I've never seen a tradegy like this hit our campus so hard.

Thank you for everyone keeping our Ole Miss community in their prayers and especially the men of Alpha Tau Omega.

My thoughts and Prayers to the Families and members.

jackson's clarion ledger has a nice article backgrounders on the boys who died - they all seemed like great kids.

Here is an article about Jordan.

http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news...nwilliams.html

The link is acting up. so i copied the article.

Jordan Lowell Williams of Atlanta, a 20-year-old sophomore majoring in accounting at the University of Mississippi, was remembered Friday as a "fun-loving" guy who enjoyed music and reading.

Williams, who lettered in wrestling at the Lovett School in Atlanta, joined ATO last spring after he'd transferred to Ole Miss from Mississippi State University.

He was the only son of James and Patricia Williams of Sandy Springs.

Al Bell, adviser to the ATO fraternity chapter, said Williams' fraternity brothers did not want to comment to the media but that they spoke highly of him.

"They did say that Jordan was a real fun-loving, laid-back guy," Bell said. "As soon as they met him during rush, they said they knew they wanted him" as a fraternity member.

A family friend recalled Friday night that Williams loved music and had wide-ranging taste, enjoying genres from classical to rock.

"He was a voracious reader" who loved the classics, said Rodger Johnson, 56, of Sandy Springs.

Johnson, who was with Williams' grieving parents Friday night, said he and Williams would sometimes race to see who could read a book faster.

"He was just a super, super, super kid," Johnson said. "I remember my daughter baby-sitting for him."

The family, Johnson said, is "relying on their faith right now."

Johnson noted that the Williams house was a favorite place to relax for Jordan and his friends, often in the basement the family had finished to accommodate them.

"He was just a good kid, with good friends and a great value system," Johnson said. "We're going to miss him."

Williams had returned to school only about a week ago. He enjoyed the atmosphere at Ole Miss and talked about hanging out in the "Grove," the popular wooded gathering spot on campus for football game weekends. He was planning to attend graduate school.

I'm really sorry to hear about that. My thoughts and prayers are with the brothers of ATO and the familiy members of those who lost thier lives.

mmcline, I'm so sorry to hear about the loss of your neighbor and friend. My thoughts and prayers are with all of the families affected by this.

May you remember how Jordan lived, not how he died.

To all those at Ole Miss or with links to the young men who died, I express my sympathies. I have no links to Ole Miss or any of the three who died, but I feel so sad about it. What a brave young man he was to literally give his life trying to save his friends.

I really hope this puts the need for a sprinkler system at the forefront. Such a tragedy.

What a horrible tragedy...they will be in my thoughts as well as their families, fraternity brothers, and all those at Ole Miss.

mmcline, your neighbors will especially be in my thoughts, I can
only imagine what is must be like for a parent to lose a child but their only child as well.



Going into my senior year two years ago, my sorority house received a sprinkler system which ate up the whole year's budget for the house improvements. I remember many of us complaining that it was unneccessary and we wanted the living room redone and a new big-screen T.V. instead since it was not mandated by the university yet. This tragedy really puts things in perspective and what horrible things can happen...

I was in Oxford over the weekend and I have to say the pics of the house don't really show how bad this fire was. The whole top story is almost completely gone.

The ATO housemother used to stay at our house when our housemother was out of town. She came by our house friday morning and said that Will Townshend had gone back in to make sure she was safe and he helped her get out safely... and then went back in again to try to help his other friends and never came out.

We ran into an ATO brother that we knew and they are leaning on each other. He said that lastnight they all went back over to the house and sat on the back patio talking of good times with the friends they lost.

I also heard that the ATO house had a small fire about 2 years ago that was caused be some kind of electrical problem, but I'm not sure if this is true. The whole campus is devastated by this tragedy & my prayers go out to all who were affected.

To all those at Ole Miss and everyone who knew someone who passed away in the fire, my thoughts and prayers go out to you and the families. It so tragic and so horrible, esp since school is just starting. Its a horrible way to start a school year.

Please let us know if we can do anything to help. Donations to the fraternity, money, food, clothes, anything. I know I am more than willing to donate anything I can send to the campus. I also will let the sorority know here so they can send letters or cards or make any doantions as well.

I have some friends at Ole Miss and when I heard that I was so upset. One of my friends is dating a ATO and she says the Greek community is a mess. My thoughts are with everyone.

The one boy died a hero trying to help his brothers. It made me cry when I read that article on him. This is such a tragic event. :(

Donations can be sent to:

Delta Psi Fire Relief Fund
ATO National Headquarters
One North Pennsylvania, 12th Floor
Indianapolis, IN 46204

This happened when I was a collegiate member of AOII, the community came together then to help the ATOs....

Monday, April 27 1998 © The Daily Mississippian
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Early morning fire fills Alpha Tau Omega house with smoke
By Will Glover
Senior Staff Writer

An early morning fire Saturday at the Alpha Tau Omega house left approximately 35 fraternity members temporarily homeless after the fire caused extensive smoke damage to the house.
"Right now we're just staying with our brothers in their apartments," said Alpha Tau Omega president Brady Williamson.
The fire began around 2:45 a.m. Saturday in the house's boiler room, said interim Oxford Fire Chief Jerry Johnson.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
"Nothing at this point in time has been ruled out" including arson, Johnson said.
"Everybody was able to get out. There were no injuries other than a few minor scrapes," Johnson said.
"The fire damage is very limited. There is some smoke and heat damage, but there is basically no structural damage to the building."
Thirty-seven firefighters, three fire trucks and a ladder arrived on the scene two minutes after a phone call to 911 at 2:47 a.m. They were able to contain the fire to the boiler room and an adjacent room.
"We put exhaust fans in to ... limit the amount of smoke damage to the building." However, there was still "extensive smoke damage throughout the house" partly due to the ductile system of the house, Johnson said.
The front portion of the house, where the kitchen is located, sustained little damage.
All firefighters were gone by 4:30 a.m., and an investigation was conducted later in the morning.
Johnson still has more statements to take concerning the fire and has not talked to the person who discovered the fire, he said.
The fire came a few hours after the chapter held its annual Gator Bash. There were approximately 75 to 100 people left in the house at the time of the fire, said Buddy Chain, president of the local board of trustees of the fraternity.
The party Saturday night was moved to the Gin, which was reserved in case of rain, Williamson said.
Residents of the house were allowed into the house two at a time on Saturday and Sunday on an emergency basis.
"Starting tomorrow afternoon, we'll let folks go in there and get their stuff out -- basic stuff out," Chain said.
Chain said they will not open the house until at least the end of the semester.
"It wouldn't be conducive to studying or good health to let people live in there.
"If we can get the electricity back on, the house mother wants to do some feeding if she can."
Chain said the house will "definitely" be open for the fall.
The Alpha Tau Omega housing corporation will meet tomorrow to discuss the status of the house and to "try to get ready to open the house as soon as possible," Chain said.
The corporation will also discuss the house's insurance policy, which is through the University, and to make sure that all members who resided in the house have a place to stay.
"I'd like to thank the Oxford Police Department for a great job, and the University Police Department and the men of the fraternity," Chain said. "We feel very fortunate no one was injured."
"Our brotherhood could not get any better," Williamson said. "We're going to stick together through this."

For your information, I have listed contact information for a man from the National Fire Sprinkler Association in the Risk Managment forum. He is expert at dealing with city/county codes and those that make them.

Part of his agenda is to get more sprinkler systems installed in more buildings, including Greek housing, in a cost effective manner.

Please forgive me if this is overly critical... the SAME house burned just 6 years ago? Somehow that makes this tragedy even worse. It sounds like there could be serious problems with the structure. I hope the concern is moot at this point. I have to assume the house will not be repaired this time.

Patti
Ole Miss Alum