January,23, 2000
Unity in the face of disaster
By Cathy Willoughby
Staff Writer
Calm and community in the face of disaster.
That is how the Heidelberg officials described the students' and staff's efforts to help students displaced by Saturday morning's fire that destroyed Williard residence hall.
"Nobody's panicking and, thank God, no one is injured,'' was the reaction of Heidelberg College president Richard Owens in the lobby of Brown Hall in the early hours of the morning. He was offering moral support and answering students' questions as they gathered there, waiting for firefighters to fight the blaze in the three-story structure.
Students from Miller Hall, as well as a Community Learning Center adjacent to Williard, were evacuated as a precaution. Miller and Willard are joined by an enclosed hallway. Resident assistants in Miller closed the fire doors separating the two buildings after assurances that the students were out.
Students appeared shocked, and ill-prepared for an abrupt early morning awakening on the coldest night of the year, with temperatures several degrees below zero. Most were wearing pajamas, some in slippers or sandals.
The 63 Williard students were taken to telephones where they could call home and let their parents know that they were safe. Staff from Residence Life, Campus Ministry and other officials were lending a hand, making sure students were given jackets and something warm to drink. Hoerneman Refectory staff were called in, and began making hot breakfasts for displaced students, as well as the 90 firefighters who toiled in the bitter cold conditions.
John Saddlemire, vice president of Student Affairs at Heidelberg, said all of the resident adviser training for just this sort of emergency paid off. "The safety procedures worked,'' he said. "The RA staff worked quickly and got everyone out immediately and into Miller, and then everyone moved across to Brown.''
He said that the student bookstore was open to allow students to replace books that are damaged so that they can resume classes as usual Monday morning and that the office of Residence Life would be housing students by Saturday evening in on-campus residences that will be their home for the rest of spring semester.
It was ill-fated luck that gave Heidelberg officials extra housing &emdash; the recent completion of Kreig Hall. The students now moved in there, opened up the houses owned by the college that they were using fall semester. These homes will be used to relocate most of the Williard Hall residents.
Robin Stanley, a senior RA on the first floor of Williard, said she heard the alarm shortly after 4 a.m. Saturday. "My first response was to get up, get out of bed,'' she said. "And then to go out in the hall and see if my residents were getting up and moving out.''
Stanley said that after all students were moved to Brown, floor plans were used to verify which students were there.
She said some of the residents reported smelling a faint odor of smoke, but she did not notice it until reaching the lobby.
Students immediate reactions were of shock, Stanley said. "They are worried about their stuff, but thankful everyone is out,'' she added. "And a lot of people were worried about each other, especially after they evacuated Miller.''
The Montville, Ohio, native said that she could understand their reactions: her family home suffered a fire last year. "I guess I am a fire expert, or crisis expert, or something,'' she said with a nervous laugh. "I know what the shock of walking into a burned building looks like.''
Roberta Hiner, a residence coordinator at Williard Hall, called Safety and Security at the college, and 911. "I heard the sirens going off in the building, and as soon as I walked out in the hallway I could smell it,'' she said. "It was definitely smoke. Some students know they have lost a lot, but they are just really glad to be alive and out of the building. Other than knowing what they lost, they know what they still have.
"It went very smoothly; the students reacted very quickly. They knew just what to do,'' Hiner said. "We rarely have a false fire drill. They don't go around pulling alarms, so they knew that this was important. I think it's a credit to our residents that they don't pull that kind of stuff.''
Hiner said that other residents offered up space in their rooms for the Williard Hall students. "The other residents in the buildings have been very supportive and offering whatever they could do to help,'' Hiner said.
By mid-afternoon, fire officials were allowing students to retrieve valuables from their rooms. With the area roped off by yellow tape, and fire fighters controlling the number of students who enter, individuals, armed with orange crates donated from the campus bookstore, gathered what they could save.
One young woman peered over a comforter, loaded with belongings, including a stuffed giraffe. A man, with a triumphant look on his face, had retrieved his computer monitor. Another carried fraternity paraphernalia, and yet one more, an extensive CD collection. All seemed relieved that most of their belongings seemed to be salvageable.
Stella Milliron, a first-floor resident, seemed surprisingly upbeat. "I'm going in and looking for important things, really quick,'' said the Grafton native. "It's not as bad as I had heard it was going to be.''
Fostoria native Mary Steyer said that her parents came earlier in the day to help her and get some items she needed. "I hope to get jewelry, clothes and stuff like that out,'' she said.
The mood of students and parents gathered in front of Williard ranged from near tears to giddy delight upon realizing what they had found. "Look what I got,'' erupted from a group of young women. "I got my bank book, my checkbook. It's like finding a treasure chest.''
Firemen threw rock salt on the front steps of the building, which were made slippery with water and freezing temperatures. School officials Ken Porada, dean of the college, and vice president of Admissions, David Rhodes, pitched in, carrying stereo equipment and televisions down, asking who the owners were among the waiting crowd.
Both Stanley and Hiner said that they would be kept busy doing "counseling in general.''
"We will be working, keeping them upbeat,'' Stanley said. "In the beginning of the crisis, everyone is just waiting. We will be consoling them, during the wait there is so much uncertainty.
"A lot of seniors were concerned because that was all of the stuff they have owned for three and a half years. This is really their home," Stanley added.
Both Owens and Saddlemire stressed that counseling was available for students who were affected by the fire.
"The entire campus is coming together, people asking what we need,'' Hiner said. "We are just glad this wasn't another Seton Hall. There was an RA on the third floor, that despite what she has lost, she has been really strong for her residents. The RA's did everything they could possibly do. They made it manageable, and all RA's from across the campus are making room for the students from Williard and Miller; they are all doing an excellent job.''