Gifford suffers fire damage

Early Saturday morning, a fire in a trashcan on the third floor of Gifford Hall activated hallway fire sprinklers, causing significant water damage to the second and third floors of the building. No students were injured in the incident. Both the Middlebury Police and the Department of Public Safety are conducting ongoing investigations to determine the cause of the fire.

Dean of Wonnacott Commons Matt Longman confirmed that four students have been temporarily moved as a result of the damage to the building.

“The water damage was extensive in these rooms to the degree that the custodial and facilities teams determined that they needed to have complete access to the rooms in order to properly address the concerns,” wrote Longman in an e-mail.

Michaela Colbert ’13 lived on the second floor of the building. She is now traveling between a single in Forest Hall, where she sleeps, and the Gifford Annex, which has been temporarily converted to house Colbert and her roommate Charlotte Heilbronn ’13.

Colbert is upbeat about the temporary move and explained that she and her roommate are enjoying the bigger space.

The building was evacuated around 4:45 a.m. Saturday morning when the fire alarm went off. Public Safety, the Middlebury Police Department, the Middlebury Fire Department and the Cornwall Fire Department all responded. Students waited in rooms of friends and in the Franklin Environmental Center at Hillcrest, located across the street from the dorm.

Dean of the College and Chief Diversity Officer Shirley Collado arrived in Hillcrest shortly before 7 a.m. Collado announced that all residents — except those in affected areas, mainly the third floor and certain rooms on the second floor — could return to their rooms. Collado also explained the proper procedures for filing insurance claims for any damages suffered to personal property.

Colbert returned to her room to find an extensive amount of water damage.

“The floor was soaked [and] the ceiling was dripping,” said Colbert. “Even the lights were dripping.”

Colbert grabbed her things and spoke with personnel present about how to proceed with cleanup.

“They gave us [several] giant fans [to dry things out], which was really nice of them,” added Colbert.

Colbert said that Dean Longman personally contacted her to make sure everything was running as smoothly as possible under the circumstances.

“They’re doing their best,” said Colbert.

Danielle Gladstone, who is one of two Residential Advisors (RA’s) in Gifford, echoed this praise of the College’s response.

“They did everything they could — they laundered all their rugs, they laundered anything that was wet, they moved students that couldn’t be in their rooms to other rooms on campus,” said Gladstone.

Longman expressed his concerns for the well-being of the students who have been affected.

“I have been working closely with a number of the residents who were most adversely affected by this event to discuss matters related to their academic responsibilities as well,” said Longman. “A number of these students have tests and papers due this week and the events of this past weekend have created significant stress and strain.”

“We are taking the fire in Gifford very seriously,” wrote Collado in an e-mail. “Many facets of the College and the community are working together on this incident, and we are very grateful that students are safe and supported.”

“It is our hope that students will be able to return to their rooms within a few weeks,” added Collado.

Director of Public Safety Lisa Boudah explained that Public Safety is working to assist the Middlebury Police in addition to conducting its own investigation.

“We’re contacting some residents in the building to ask if they were in the building that night [and] if they saw anything,” said Boudah.

Boudah explained that the Middlebury Police are investigating the incident because of the suspicious nature of the events, which included both a trashcan and a nearby pizza box in flames.

“Trashcans just don’t suddenly catch on fire,” said Boudah. “There’s the potential that it could have been a criminal act. The police [have a responsibility to] investigate criminal acts, especially around fire in a residence hall.”

According to Boudah, the department’s response to the situation was conducted according to protocol.

“We responded and assisted with the evacuation of the building,” said Boudah. “[Public Safety also kept] people out of the building while the fire department was inside and assisted the deans with re-housing students.”

Gladstone said that Commons administrators have encouraged her “to keep checking in with everyone, and to make sure that everyone who has had stuff damaged speaks up so that no one … is upset and not reaching out for help.”

Typically, when damage occurs inside and a culprit is not identified, the residents of the dorm are responsible for paying for the damages collectively. Collado explained that this situation might be an exception.

“This whole situation is under investigation right now so it’s premature to say what the process for paying for the damages will be,” wrote Collado.

Collado encourages anyone who knows anything about the fire to contact Public Safety.