By Dylan Pichnarcik News Editor By Kaitlin Carman Asst. News Editor Officials say Miles Bibb Hall sustained more than $100,000 in damages after a fire started in a student’s room. Miles Bibb was evacuated and temporarily closed on Aug.16. Framingham State University Police (FSUPD) and the Framingham Fire Department (FFD) are investigating the incident in order to determine the cause of the fire. The early-arrival residents on campus who occupied Miles Bibb were temporarily moved to Linsley Hall while repairs were underway. The fire started in a student's room on an upper floor of Miles Bibb, causing water damage throughout the building, according to the FSUPD police report. Information about the student has not yet been made public. Officer Richard Reuss of FSUPD, who was the first to arrive on the scene, heard the fire alarms at approximately 1 p.m. in Miles Bibb while assisting with traffic control for early move-in, according to a report he filed on Aug. 17. At the time, students authorized to move in were a “small number of people,” primarily “residence [life] staff and athletes,” said Glenn Cochran, director of residence life and housing. According to President Nancy Niemi, the responsible individual's identity cannot be released as any records regarding students are protected under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Niemi said she was briefed on “the whole situation since it happened.” She added, “I’m checking in with folks as needed to make sure that everything is being resolved.” According to Reuss’ report, the individual who occupied the room in Miles Bibb Hall was seen on security camera footage leaving his room at approximately 12:54 p.m., returning around 1:55 p.m. The individual attempted to “re-enter the room but leaves as the smoke in the hallway is getting thicker ... standing with the door open until 1:56:33 p.m.,” according to Reuss’ report. “The first strobe from the fire alarm activation is seen on camera at 1:56:53 p.m,” he added. Reuss said there was water coming out of the door to the student’s room and “approximately one quarter inch to half an inch of water was on the floor at this time.” After FFD arrived, Reuss and the Area Director on duty, David Case, “did a tour of the 6th floor” and discovered water in two rooms. Reuss added he noticed “water flowing down through the elevator shaft.” Upon the arrival of an additional fire company, Reuss was asked to “accompany her [Fire Lieutenant] and her company to the first floor fire pump room.” When Reuss got to the first floor, he said he saw “water coming out of the elevator shaft and pooling on the floor.” He added, “I also noted water coming out of room 111… I opened the door to room 111, which is a telecom room, and noted damage to the ceiling tiles and a considerable amount of water going into the building, along with a strong odor of smoke.” Although no official charges have been filed against the student, Reuss stated that Detective Denise Duguay interviewed the individual whose room was the fire’s point of origin, adding he was read his “Miranda Rights once the recorder started.” According to Reuss’ statement, the individual did not call FFD or FSUPD after witnessing the fire “as he ‘guessed’ that FSUPD would be responding as the fire alarm was sounding.” Reuss stated the individual “admitted to climbing onto his bed and dresser and covering the smoke detector with a plastic bag, as he was concerned that the alarm would go off every time he lit a candle in the room.” Additionally, the individual “stated that he lit the candle prior to leaving” so “his room would smell of ‘teakwood’ from the candle,” according to the student’s statement. Photos were taken at the scene, some of which depicted the “smoke detector covered by a bag … along with a candle and various smoking products,” Reuss added. He wrote that the individual “was asked about the smoking materials in the room and admitted that he had marijuana, rolling paper and a grinder in his room, but only smoked outside the building.” The prohibited items were confiscated by Residence Life staff, he added. The individual was provided the opportunity to give a written statement. “He wrote approximately one paragraph before he said he couldn’t write anymore,” according to Reuss. Tampering with smoke detectors is a violation of the FSU RAMS Student Handbook and Massachusetts General Law, chapter 148 section 27A. According to Cochran, the individual is subject to a “community standards hearing” through the Dean of Students’ office. According to the student code of conduct, found in the RAMS Student Handbook, “The use, possession, sale, distribution, or manufacturing of any illegal drug is prohibited” as well as “the illegal or unauthorized possession, sale, use and/or abuse of any prescription or nonprescription drug.” The handbook also prohibits the “possession or use of drug-related paraphernalia.” Meg Nowak Borrego, vice president of student affairs and dean of students, would neither confirm nor deny whether the individual in question was an RA at the time of the fire, is still enrolled, or if the individual could be facing criminal charges for damages. As for the estimated cost of damages, Nowak Borrego said, “I believe it’s still being determined, but it’s over $100,000.” The Massachusetts State College Building Authority (MSCBA) holds the titles for the buildings on campus. MSCBA also holds the insurance to the buildings, according to Janet Chrisos, executive director of the MSCBA. Chrisos said, “We have insurance on the building and it does cover this, but there is a deductible, so it doesn’t cover everything. We have a $100,000 deductible on all our buildings.” According to Cochran, “It [the fire] happened on a high floor so the water went down the elevator shaft, on the walls, and down floor by floor all the way down to the ground floor.” He said maintainers handled the initial cleanup before the MSCBA contracted World Wide Drying Center, a company that specializes in water, fire, smoke, and mold repairs. He added, “Approximately 70 rooms had moisture readings on them. They [World Wide Drying Center] set up fans and dehumidifiers and they came back for three days re-testing, re-reading … marking the walls with blue tape where moisture readings had been taken.” According to Chrisos, “There won’t be” a risk of mold forming in the future.” She added, “That’s why we got World Wide Drying out right away. [They] remove the wet drywall, they do moisture readings, and replace anything that is wet and then they dry out the interstitial spaces between the walls.” Students who were displaced by the damage moved into Linsley Hall. Cochran said, “There were 55 people displaced - that’s early arrivals, the area director, Joe Barbagallo, and his wife.” Niemi said, “I was glad that it was before the year started, only because there were fewer people on campus.” She added, “That doesn’t negate the fact that it affected the folks here, so I was glad we had a place to put them [Linsley].” According to Robert Totino, chief financial officer (CFO) and vice president of finance, technology, and administration, students impacted will be given a credit “for the burden that they were under. “We understand this was not something that was pleasurable - to be relocated for a period of time - but we’re trying to do our best as a campus community to understand that students were impaired by the situation,” said Totino. Dawanee Phanthavong, a sophomore early-arrival student was notified “a couple hours [after the fire] that we would have to move to Linsley until further notice. “I was in Linsley until Sept. 7 because my room was right next door to the room that caught on fire,” she added. Phanthavong also said the conditions in Linsley were not ideal. “The room had cobwebs everywhere, dead bugs, and one of the AC units didn’t work. Our bathroom did not have a showerhead. We emailed Residence Life to see if they could do anything, but they said that all of the rooms were deep cleaned beforehand,” she said. She said she was later moved to another room in better condition. Jaimee Lowe, a sophomore early-arrival student, lived in Linsley for one week. She said on the day of move in, “Once I parked my car, I walked back to Miles Bibb and heard the alarm and then had to wait outside.” She added the conditions in Linsley were “not great. We were told that there was air conditioning but it barely worked, there was tile that was stripped that looked like there was black mold on the floor, and our shower didn’t work.” Lowe said the Office of Residence Life “treated me the best they could. They answered all my questions.” Lexi Beattie, a sophomore, was scheduled to move in to Miles Bibb on Sept. 3. She was “notified on Aug. 28 about the fire through an email from Residence Life.” Beattie and her roommates lived in Linsley from Sept. 3 to Sept. 10. She said the conditions in Linsley were “not horrible, but it wasn’t an ideal situation in comparison to living in Miles Bibb.” Justinne Quinanola, a sophomore early-arrival student, “was told it was only going to be a weekend.” She added, “I was notified on Aug. 16 because I was moving in.” Quinanola lived in Linsley for a week and a half. She added that Linsley “was dirty and there was a rat in my room.” She did not report either of these issues to Residence Life. Quinanola’s experience with Residence Life “was fine and they seemed really stressed and like they were doing whatever they could.” She said, “I felt like the whole situation was dealt with quickly as it happened so close to our move-in date.” Tabatha McRae, a senior early-arrival student, was relocated to Linsley after the fire. She said it was “frustrating to experience. I was ready to come back to school and then I had to move somewhere else.” McRae added Linsley felt isolated from the rest of campus. “It felt weird, almost like I was in a psych[iatric] ward.” She was housed in Linsley for one week. She did not notice any damage or unsanitary conditions inside of Linsley Hall. McRae added she has “emailed them multiple times” about receiving compensation for her time in Linsley, but has not received a response. Niemi said, “We take [safety] seriously. We’re responsible for making sure that everybody on campus is safe and protected.” Members of the FSU community can contact FSUPD through an anonymous tip line by texting “FSUTip” to 67283 to report any unlawful activity. FSUPD can also be reached 24/7 at (508) 626-4911.
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