Kent State SAE house catches fire

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http://recordpub.com/news/article/2771981

Fraternity house catches fire early Sunday; no one injured in blaze
Matthew Fredmonsky
16 hours ago


Record-Courier staff writer

A house fire on University Drive in Kent early Sunday morning capped off a long Halloween night during which party crowds overflowed into the street and impeded traffic.

Members of the Kent State University fraternity Sigma Alpha Epsilon who lived in the house at 222 University Drive were forced from the residence shortly after 4 a.m. Sunday after a fire began in the basement.

The Kent fire department responded and brought the fire under control within 15 minutes, Kent Fire Capt. Charles Palmer said.

"Nobody was trapped in the house," Palmer said. "Everybody had evacuated."

Palmer did not know how many people were in the house at the time of the blaze. The fire caused about $70,000 in damage.

KSU officials released a statement Sunday saying the fraternity residents were displaced by the fire but the university was working to make arrangements for housing, transportation, books and other necessities.

Some members of a neighboring fraternity, who did not wish to be identified, said they and members of Sigma Alpha Epsilon used fire extinguishers to try and extinguish the blaze but the flames spread too quickly. A spent fire extinguisher stood in the drive just outside the structure hours later.

Windows to the basement and on the second and third floors were shattered and boarded up Sunday. Yellow "crime scene" tape encircled the house. Smoke and flames stained the siding black on the rear of the house near a double-door entrance to the basement.

The neighboring fraternity members said the scene on University Drive during Saturday's Halloween celebration mirrored a large block party. Only beer bottles, cans and plastic cups remained Sunday afternoon. Trash littered nearly every yard on the street.

Fire departments from the city of Ravenna and Brimfield Township responded to the fire. Emergency personnel remained on the scene for two hours ventilating the house and allowing residents to return for personal items.

Palmer said the investigation into the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fire continues because a cause has not yet been determined.