Fire Strikes Again
Firefighters led over 50 New College students to safety as their accommodation blazed on Thursday morning. Six fire engines and over 40 firefighters rushed to the college's Sacher building in the early hours of the morning.
Some of the fire alarms remained silent during the blaze, prompting fears that the system was ineffectual.
A female graduate woke to find her top floor bedroom on fire. Firefighters, wearing breathing apparatus, entered the smoke-filled Sacher building. Two students accompanied the graduate to the John Radcliffe, where doctors treated her for smoke inhalation.
Jason File, New's MCR president, confirmed that the student had recovered, but was still "a bit shaken up by events".
Although a Fire Brigade spokesman claims that the incident "demonstrates the importance of smoke detection", some graduates fear that the "inadequate" alarm system put their lives at risk.
A ground floor eye-witness was alerted only by knocks on his door and cries of "Get out, get out!"
The bottom floor was already filled with smoke. As graduates fled the building through the thick smoke, all that one of them could hear was "a quiet beeping" from the top floor.
The Sixties building had a localised alarm system. Smoke detectors near the blaze set off alarms in the top right of the building. Those on the ground floor did not sound.
The test the day before worried one eye-witness: "It could have been much worse."
The poster for last Sunday's MCR meeting captures the mood around the Sacher building: "questions about the fire." Graduates were dismayed to hear during the meeting that the building's fire system was faulty.
New College's Bursar, David Palfreyman, put a fire alarm upgrade low down on his list of priorities. "Of course they'd like to live in a building with a state-of-the-art fire system. But we have older parts of College to deal with," he said. A Sacher fire safety system fix was not due until 2003.
Jason Dorsett, OUSU's vice president for graduates, challenged New College: "They've decided to build new graduate accommodation before making the accommodation they've already got safe. That's an odd set of priorities."
But File admitted the difficulties the college faced: "Because one building is the safest of the lot, doesn't mean that there won't be a fire there."
However, File managed to find a silver lining. He sees the blaze has been a bonding experience, and the MCR are now much closer.
Palfreyman was equally positive about the incident, claiming that despite the disruption, "no-one was without a bed that night."
Rooms on the top floor were badly damaged, but college authorities managed to accommodate everyone. Other colleges offered rooms and newly refurbished rooms were opened early.
Palfreyman further downplayed the significance of the blaze. Apart from the few hours of the fire it was business as normal at the College.
Rumours around the Sacher building suggest that a candle started the fire, but the Fire Brigade continue to investigate.
A forensics expert arrived at the scene early on Friday, as New College's insurance company assesses the damage.
Palfreyman has no reason to believe that anyone had broken college rules. However, he believes that the incident highlights the whole new set of fire risks that students face. "As you improve things, you've got a new set of risks. Like mobile phone chargers."
28th Oct 1999