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Heroism in the midst of a tragedy certainly saved lives...

Firefighters Say Fatal Fire Was Worst They've Seen
Coroner: Students Didn't Likely Die While Sleeping

UPDATED: 8:52 p.m. EDT April 18, 2003

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The four firefighters who rescued three college students from a rooming house said Friday that the blaze was the most horrible of their careers.

The crew of Engine 13 in Columbus talked about the weekend fire near Ohio State University that killed five other students. They said that they have never seen so much smoke and flame or felt such severe heat.

The firefighters had raced up a hill behind the house and up the fire escape. They went inside without hoses. People outside were yelling that there were people in the second-floor bedrooms.

Thick smoke covered the second floor.

About a minute later the firefighters had gotten the three students out and were on the ground. Then the second-floor hallway burst into flames, and the crew ran back inside with hoses.



"The rescue probably only took about a minute or a minute-and-a-half to get these three victims out," Columbus Fire Lt. Carl Jepson (pictured, right) said. "We were shorthanded with medics. We had them on the way, so what these gentlemen did was to start first aid on these victims -- to start to get them breathing again because a couple of them were unconscious."



"It was the most surreal thing I've ever seen in my life," firefighter Scott Kulpa (pictured, left) said. "I've never seen more fire. I've never seen darker, blacker smoke in my entire life."

"You can be a firefighter for 30-40 years. They train you to do that but you never think you're going to have to so it is something I'll never forget," firefighter Mike Burnheimer said.

The fire broke out before dawn Sunday at a house where a 21st birthday celebration had been held Saturday night for one of the victims, Alan Richard Schlessman.

He was one of two Ohio State students who lived in the off-campus house and were killed in the fire. Schlessman, 21, was from Perkins Township, near Sandusky. Kyle Raulin, 20, of West Chester, Ohio, also died inside the home.

Fire Victims Remembered

Three of the students killed were sorority sisters at Ohio University. Andrea Kali Dennis, 20, of Madeira and Erin M. DeMarco, 19, of Nimishillen Township near Canton, were visiting friends at the house, along with Christine Wilson, 19, of Dublin. Two students remain hospitalized, NewsChannel 4 reported.

Also Friday, Dr. Brad Lewis, the Franklin County coroner, confirmed to NewsChannel 4 that the five students who died were not in bed asleep, but attempting to find their way out of the house.

Lewis said that the five were burned, but smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning caused their deaths.

Lewis said that tests found the five students were drinking, but not impaired enough that it would have prevented any of them from escaping.

Police have set up a phone line to gather anonymous tips, interviewed those in nearby houses and passed out fliers advertising a reward for information.

Central Ohio Crime Stoppers, Inc. announced Thursday morning that the reward for the arson is now up to $22,500, with contributions from the Ohio Blue Ribbon Arson Fund, Central Ohio Crime Stoppers, Ohio State and Northsteppe Realty, the property manager for the house. Tipsters can call the hotline at (614) 645-TIPS or (877) 645-TIPS and remain anonymous.

They have asked the public to turn over videotapes or still photographs of the fire or from a 21st birthday party that had ended about an hour before the blaze broke out.

Watch NewsChannel 4 and refresh nbc4columbus.com for continuing coverage.