FIRE-Phi Kappa Tau-Neb. Wesleyan U.
 

Update-one death
 

The article has been revised since the morning reports. Looks like there is one death.

This is very unfortunate. My heart goes out to these gentlemen.

I will be praying for them all. This is so sad.

A very sad situation and our thoughts and condolences for the families, the chapter and the fraternity.

While we have focused on fire in Greek housing before in this forum, it is always important to keep in mind that it is one of the most important Risk Management issues that we face.

At least, according to the article, all of the rooms had smoke detectors. Although not impossible, in a building that age, it is unlikely that there is a sprinkler system. I would wager that there will be a bill in the Nebraska legislature (if there isn't one already) to require them. As we've said before, that is a financial problem for most chapters -- but if a system would have saved this life...

KETV in Omaha has a story on its site that says the house did not have a sprinkler system:

http://www.ketv.com/news/10343713/detail.html

Isn't there legislation stuck in Congress to allow donations for fraternities/sororities housing to be tax-deductible? I'm sure I'm not explaining this clearly, but I know I have submitted letters to my Congressman for it. Perhaps that would relieve some of the financial burden for Housing Corps with older homes. Either way, this is so incredibly sad.

Yes.

This has become a political hot potato, and it's also a huge concern for chapters.

One of the alumni boards I serve on has to determine if we need to bump up our financial goal for the chapter's nascent fundraising campaign because of the political wrangling over this issue at the city government level.

Between the sprinklers and ADA, I won't be surprised to see some chapters go by the wayside in the next few years. Unless a chapter has an extremely active and supportive alumni/ae base, they could have a bleak future.

Agree. Without national support, this will be a particularly big problem for smaller and newer chapters.

UPDATE
 

Better sell your Dell stock. Looks like several lawsuits may be pending against them soon. Authorities are looking into whether a recalled laptop may have been the source of the fire.


http://www.journalstar.com/articles/...5011749639.txt

Just an FYI.. (and a bit of a hijack I guess). The Dell laptops had SONY batteries in them and since they issued their recall, numerous other companies have also issued recalls on their laptops which also had SONY batteries in them. Ultimately, I think SONY is the stock to sell. However, that brings up an interesting legal question that maybe some of our legal folks here can answer. If a company finds out a product is defective and issues a recall and you ignore that recall, are they still liable?

I believe customers have a certain amount of time to comply with the recall effort or it is waived. For instance, if GM announces a recall on a truck and then the next day my truck catches fire, I'm not going to be considered to waive the recall. However, if that time has passed, say for instance it is 1 year, then it may be that I waived the recall and cannot recover.

I'm not a products liability attorney, but from what I can recall I believe that is the issue. The lawsuit would be against SONY, Dell, and any other manafacturer or retailer of the parts of the batteries.

Update:
 

KETV.com


Records: Man Seen Burning Paper Before Fatal Frat-House Fire
April 16, 2007
LINCOLN, Neb. -- A man charged with attemped arson related to a fatal fraternity fire in Lincoln was seen lighting a fire on the night in question.

Lincoln police arrested three people Friday in connection with a fatal fraternity fire last fall at the Phi Kappa Tau house at Nebraska Weslyan University. The Lincoln Police Department said Jed C. Tompkins, 22, and Lance N. Daharsh, 21, were cited and released on suspicion of hazing. Brandon W. Lovegrove, 22, was jailed on suspicion of attempted first-degree arson, hazing, illegal possession of fireworks and unlawful throwing of fireworks. He bonded out.

Ryan Stewart, 19, was killed in the blaze.

The charges are not related to the death, authorities said.

Court documents show that Lovegrove was seen by a fellow fraternity member lighting a calendar and tossing it into a hallway at about 3:30 a.m. on the morning of the fire. It was later that a fire at the house was called into the Lincoln Fire Department.

The witness told police that he was able to get the burning calendar to a concrete stairwell, where he was able to put it out. Court documents show that Lovegrove took no steps to put out the fire.

Lovegrove later admitted to investigators that he set the calendar on fire and said he doesn't know why he did it, records show.

Phi Kappa Tau has suspended (i.e., closed) its Nebraska Wesleyan chapter for four years, although the action can be appealed in two years. Violations of fraternity policy were cited.

Article:

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_pag...&u_sid=2372641

Phi Kappa Tau statement released by Nebraska Wesleyan:

http://www.nebrwesleyan.edu/media/re...lId=1000297786