[ADPiAkron]

Here is a letter from the Miami University President, Jim Garland, to the university community...obviously this is from before the article above was released...

"The death of three Miami University students in an early Sunday morning off-campus fire has left us all sad, shaken and overwhelmed by the unfairness of life. The three students were known to be at the student rental property last night and they are unaccounted for. As of late this afternoon, two of their three families have been contacted by authorities. We do not expect names to be released until the third family has been reached and until the coroner's office provides official identification.

Oxford officials were at the scene of the fire at 122 N. Main St. within a minute of receiving an emergency cell phone call at 4:31 a.m. Sunday, but the residence was already engulfed in flames. Thankfully, seven students did manage to escape and we are all grateful that more young people did not perish in this tragedy.

We have offered counseling to the survivors and their needs for housing, clothing and food have also been met. The Butler County Red cross has been enormously helpful in this regard.

We are contacting professors about the situation. Although we are not canceling classes, we have asked faculty to be especially understanding and accommodating to those affected by the tragedy. The Miami community is a close-knit community, and I know that many students will need support from the university, their friends and faculty members.

Grief counseling will be available to all students through the Student Counseling Service at 529-4634. Please refer to the university homepage at http://www.muohio.edu/ for regular updates. These will augment the bulletins that we have already emailed to the university community.

Soon, of course, we will turn our attention to understanding the circumstances of this tragedy and taking steps to avoid any recurrence. For now, however, it is time for us to focus our attention on those who need our support. Miami University and the City of Oxford are strong and caring communities, and this is a time for all to rally around those who have suffered a great loss."