January 25, 2000
Electrical short likely cause of dorm fire
By Jefferson Wolfe
Staff Writer
A likely cause for Saturday morning's fire that gutted Williard Hall has been determined: an electrical short in attic wiring.
"We can't tell exactly what caused the short because of the damage to the area," Tiffin Fire Chief William Ennis said. "It's definitely accidental."
The fire was reported shortly after 4 a.m. Saturday. Tiffin and 13 other fire departments were called to extinguish the fire, which destroyed the roof, attic and several rooms of the third floor of the residence hall. There were 63 students living in the hall. None were injured.
Ennis said firefighters found a piece of wiring that showed evidence of a short. The wire ran between the attic floor and the third-floor ceiling.
The fire appears to have started with the wire along the attic floor, above a third-floor restroom. The wire originated from a junction box above a dropped ceiling in the restroom.
This is a preliminary result, the fire chief said. The insurance company agrees, but is doing additional checking.
The fire probably had burned for a couple of hours before it was reported, because the area where the fire started was burned completely, Ennis said.
"It had burned for quite awhile," he said.
The tile roof with tin underneath created an oven effect, making the fire build and get very hot, Ennis said.
Reclamation workers from Cousino Construction in Toledo were in the building Monday. The building can be rebuilt, said the company's Mike Cousino, and rebuilding could be completed by August if work can start soon.
"Our hope is to renovate and restore the building," Heidelberg President Richard Owens said.
There was water damage throughout Williard Hall from the water that was used to fight the fire.
In some places, students' belongings were damaged heavily, in others, the damage was minimal, depending on how the water moved through the building, Jamie Abel, director of college relations, said.
Students were able to get into the building Saturday to retrieve belongings, Ennis said.
"We've been able to provide them with essentials to get started," said John Saddlemire, vice president of student affairs. Heidelberg officials are planning fund raisers to help the students whose belongings were not insured.
Ennis said Williard Hall passed a fire department inspection this year. Heidelberg officials say it appears the wiring was replaced when the building was renovated in 1993, but that has not been confirmed.
Heidelberg will continue to follow their current policy of maintenance and inspection, Owens said.