January 24, 2000
College hopes to salvage burned dormitory
By Cathy Willoughby
Staff Writer
As Williard Hall students settled in to their new rooms, Heidelberg College officials worked to secure the dorm that fire had damaged early Saturday morning.
Jamie Abel, director of college relations, said students were allowed to recover belongings again from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.
"Students from the first and second floors were allowed to take out whatever they could,'' Abel said. "Those who were on the third floor were escorted by members of the construction company and had to wear hard hats because the situation up there was more precarious. It was reported that three-quarters of the students' belongings have been recovered.''
Residents will be allowed back in the building briefly today to finish up, Abel said.
The construction firm hired by Heidelberg was recommended by the college's insurance company, CNR Property and Casualty in Chicago, which the college obtained through Heritage Insurance in Tiffin. Cousino Construction, which specializes in building recovery, is to handle two projects with Williard Hall.
"The first thing is pulling out the furnishings and equipment in an attempt to salvage and recondition it, and then turn it back to the college," Abel said. "The other is to secure the building from the elements.''
He said a rubber material will be pulled over to close openings in the roof and windows will be sealed.
"They will be trying to get heat and ventilation back through the building,'' he said. "There is a lot of wood in the building that will have some reaction to water and the longer you have wood in water, the worse it is. They said to expect it to take about a month to dry out the building.''
Abel said no decision has yet been made on whether the structure can be saved. "We are optimistic that it can be repaired, but the experts are the engineers and adjustors.''
He said files of paperwork plus computers from the Office of International Studies and a computer training room have been removed.
"They (Cousino's) have a process where they blow-dry the computer equipment piece by piece. The records are more valuable to us,'' he added.
Cousino also might handle the possible reconstruction, which Abel said was estimated to take six months.
While the fate of the building and its contents was being contemplated, Tiffin Fire Chief William Ennis said the state fire marshal's office was investigating the cause of the blaze Sunday.
"We are hoping to get closer to the area,'' Ennis said of the spot where it started. "We are now sure that it started in the attic area, but we are still looking at the cause, where the area of origin was and whether it was in a concealed area or not.''
Ennis said that the cause may be determined sometime today.