BY RONALD J. RAKOSNIK
On January 9, 2001, Lombard (IL) Fire Department Engine 43 responded to a fire-out investigation at the National University of Health Sciences, a chiropractic college. The fire occurred in Lincoln Hall, a dormitory. When Lieutenant Vince Hanlon and his crew arrived, a student led them to the fire room.
On entering, they observed a large amount of soot covering the floor and, on approaching the bathroom, saw that the door was severely damaged. Only the outer frame was intact. Behind the door was a flush-mounted electric wall heater that had been destroyed by fire.
The exact date and time of the fire could not be determined. The two students who occupied the room left for Christmas break December 12 and did not return until January 6. The fire obviously started at some time during this three-week period and burned itself out because of lack of fuel or oxygen. I believe that it was because of the lack of fuel that the fire ultimately went out.
ORIGIN AND CAUSE INVESTIGATION
The fire originated in the bathroom. Behind the bathroom door we found an electric wall-mounted space heater. The university’s maintenance staff informed me that the bathroom heaters should have been disconnected six years ago. This may or may not be true, and it is also possible that a student may have reconnected the unit.
The heater, measuring eight by 12 inches, was a 120-volt, 750-watt, 60-cycle electric heater controlled by a thermostat with no definite on/off switch. The unit could be turned off only at the circuit breaker panel located in the hallway. The heating coil in the unit could reach a temperature of up to 1,0007F.
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The four-story dormitory (one of three such structures) was constructed in the early 1970s of brick with steel joists. Each dormitory had 50 700-square-foot, two-bed units that were entered from the exterior only. Each unit had one battery-operated smoke detector, but the affected unit’s detector, located just outside the bathroom, had no battery.
The two students who lived in the room said they never used the heater. They did admit to checking the unit at the beginning of the school year to see if it worked, which it did. The heating unit, sev-erely fire damaged, was still mounted on the wall and was on the medium setting.
When the two stu-dents left for Christ-mas break, they turned off two of the three other electric heaters in their dorm unit (one in one bedroom and one in the living room). However, they left a small electric baseboard space heater on at a low setting in the second bedroom nearest to the bathroom. The bedroom doors were left open.
The students stated they believed that the bathroom heater was turned off. A bathrobe hanging on the back of the open bathroom door had been in direct contact with the heater.
 (3) The wall-mounted electric space heater located behind the bathroom door. The toilet paper dispenser is at right. |
It was extremely cold in the Chicago area during December 2000, and there was a heavy snow accumulation. It is believed that the dorm room became so cold that the bedroom baseboard heater that was left on could not keep up with the cold and that the thermostat-controlled bathroom heater turned on as a result. The heater eventually ignited the robe and the bathroom door. Except for smoke damage, the bathroom’s steel doorjamb was not damaged. There was smoke and heat damage throughout the dorm unit. The fire eventually burned out because of the minimal fire load in the fire’s path. The tile-on-concrete floor in the bathroom and hallway was not damaged. The fire was ruled accidental, caused by combustibles located too close to a heat source.
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On the same day the department responded, I met with the school’s president, vice president, and head of maintenance to discuss the following items requiring immediate attention.
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- All space heaters no longer used and associated wiring must be removed.
- Any opening resulting from the removal must be covered with 5/8-inch drywall to maintain one-hour fire rating.
- All dorm rooms must have hard-wired smoke detectors.
- The fire prevention bureau must conduct a complete inspection of all dorm rooms.
- The fire prevention bureau and school representatives must meet to discuss fire alarm monitoring and sprinkler installation in all dormitories.
At this point, the bathroom heaters were supposed to have already been removed. The smoke detectors are to be installed over a two-year period because of financial constraints. The fire inspection bureau will inspect the facility in the future.
LESSONS LEARNED
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- Since the dormitories were built in 1972, the building codes have changed. There are many colleges and universities throughout the country similar to this one, and violations involving life safety issues must be corrected immediately. In the January 2000 Seton Hall University fire, three students died and 58 were injured. The dormitory involved was built in 1952, when sprinklers were not required.
- In general, classrooms must either be sprinklered or equipped with a modern smoke alarm system. At most universities, building codes governing classrooms are followed, but those covering student living and sleeping areas are sometimes overlooked and possibly neglected.
- All college and university administrators must review their dormitories’ safety features and take whatever action is necessary to bring them up to today’s standards.
RONALD J. RAKOSNIK is a lieutenant and paramedic with the Lombard (IL) Fire Department, where he has been a member of its Fire Investigation Unit (FIU) for 15 years. He is an Illinois state-certified fire investigator and a member of the International Association of Arson Investigators (IAAI). A certified Fire Officer I and II, Rakosnik has an associate’s degree in fire science and attended the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, Maryland (Cause and Origin); the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, Georgia (Advanced Arson for Profit, Cause and Origin/Courtroom Testimony); and numerous seminars pertaining to fire investigation.
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