Frequent fire alarm activations are common at John Carroll University. Regardless of the cause, students tend to be hesitant to leave the building due to how often they hear the alarms. Unfortunately, real fires can happen and not all alarms are false. The Carroll News found several archived stories about fires that occurred on JCU grounds.
In an April 1981 issue, reporter Lisa Gasbarre wrote about an early morning fire that broke out and destroyed a dormitory in New Dorm. The University Heights Fire Department confirmed that the fire was caused by a short circuit in a television set. Fortunately, all residents were evacuated from the building and no one was hurt. The fire was extinguished within ten minutes.
Even though the fire stayed in one room, another dorm was destroyed by the heat and smoke. The estimated cost of damages was $10,000 (which is equivalent to about $36,500 today). After the fire, residents couldn’t come back to their dorms for a week to ten days. The two students who lived in the room that caught fire weren’t able to return for the rest of the semester.
A total of 30 students were displaced from New Dorm. They were given the option of moving in with other friends, residing at Notre Dame College, which was able to accommodate 20 people, or commuting if the driving distance was close enough to JCU.
In a story from February 1982, reporter Dan Kenny stated that a fire erupted in a Murphy Hall suite between 2:15 and 2:23 p.m. on Jan. 26. All residents were evacuated from the building and no one was injured. The fire was extinguished within 15 minutes. The cause of the blaze is unknown.
The suite was occupied by Colleen Healy, Terri O’Connor, Kitty Bridgeman and Mary McIntyre. Healy was the only one present at the time of the fire. She was in a nearby room when it started. The suite sustained smoke damage and some possessions were destroyed.
“I was amazed at the selectivity of the damage,” Healy said. “A stereo in the suite was undamaged while a [lamp] in our room melted.”
In March 1992, a third-floor dorm in Dolan Hall caught fire, displacing all residents on that floor for the rest of the semester due to rooms being affected by smoke and soot. PJ Hruschak wrote that the room belonged to Resident Assistant Cindy Ford. The fire stayed in the room and did not reach the living quarters or bathrooms.
The cause of the fire is unknown, with arson being ruled out. The estimated cost of damages was at least $50,000 (or about $116,500 today) since Ford’s room was destroyed and had to be reconstructed. After the fire was extinguished, Dolan third-floor residents were allowed to retrieve their belongings for that night and the next day. The other Dolan Hall residents were able to stay in their rooms for the rest of the semester.
The students affected either found a place to sleep or were given a dorm in Murphy Hall for the night. Accommodations for the rest of the semester were eventually made for them to live in the bunkhouse, a large sleeping area that was in the Murphy Hall basement. There were also 16 empty dorms around campus available for housing.
Patti Gallagher’s dorm was next door to Ford’s and was there when the fire started and the alarm went off.
“I heard what sounded like popping noises from [Ford’s] room,” she said. “After the noise, the wall started to shake. About five seconds later, the alarm went off.”
The only case of injury that was reported was Ford, who was taken to the University Hospital of Cleveland to be treated for minor smoke inhalation.
In a story from a May 2000 publication, business manager Jennifer Capuano covered a fire that occurred in the O’Malley Center. Flames erupted in Brian Macaskill’s office on the building’s second floor. The cause of the fire was a cigarette butt thrown into a waste bin.
By the time the UHFD arrived at the scene, the sprinkler system had already put out the fire. However, the system remained on, which caused a lot of damage in the hallways and several offices throughout the O’Malley Center.
Macaskill couldn’t be reached for comment. Just hours after this incident occurred, a Campion Hall fire was ruled an arson by the UHFD. It is unknown if anyone was arrested. Mary Ann Hanicak, who was the area coordinator for Hamlin and Campion Halls, stated that evacuation was an issue since only one-third of Campion residents left the building.
Whenever a fire alarm sounds, it is very important to evacuate the building, regardless of the reason for the activation. Prioritizing safety is an absolute necessity in situations like this.
