Brandon Fire

Gary Yokoyama/The Hamilton Spectator

MACINSIDERS IS BRINGING YOU THE LATEST NEWS AS SOON AS WE HEAR IT. KEEP CHECKING THE FORUMS FOR THE LATEST UPDATES.

Article in the Hamilton Spectator can be found here.


UPDATE: BRANDON FIRE RELIEF AND UPDATES:
- Click here for latest updates/announcement posts found on MacInsiders
- Click here for relief discussion from students




As per the Daily News article:

"October 18, 2008

A fire broke out in Brandon Hall just before 4:00 Saturday morning. The building was evacuated and remains closed as the Fire Marshall investigates. Four students were injured and three of them were taken to hospital by ambulance. All but one are expected to be released later today. The parents of the students who were injured have been notified.

Students who were evacuated were moved to the Commons Building where they were provided with food and assistance. Communication updates for students are being provided at the Commons and through the Commons service desk at ext. 27227.

This information will be updated at 2:00 p.m. Saturday afternoon."


2:00 p.m. Update


October 18, 2008

The fire marshall has informed the University that Brandon Hall will be closed for the rest of the day following a fire that broke out just before 4:00 Saturday morning.

Students will be allowed to re-enter the building to retrieve any essential items starting at 3 p.m. Students should first go to the Commons service desk as the entry will be done in a controlled manner with the assistance of officials.

An evacuation centre for students will be open starting at 4 p.m. at the Smith Gym in the Ivor Wynn Centre. Cots will be available along with assistance for students with any special needs. The Red Cross will be running the evacuation centre. Please enter Ivor Wynn through the front doors to access the evacuation centre.

Information updates will continue to be available to students at the Commons Buildings as well as in the evacuation centre. Students from Brandon Hall who require any type of assistance should go to the Commons service desk or call ext. 27227.

Four students were injured and three of them were taken to hospital by ambulance. All but one are expected to be released later today. The parents of the students who were injured have been notified.

This information will be updated at 7 p.m. Saturday evening.

7:00pm update

"Brandon Hall will remain closed throughout the day on Sunday. The Ontario Fire Marshall is continuing his investigation and has not yet determined how long the building will be out of service.

The residence building was evacuated early Saturday morning after a fire just before 4 a.m. More than 400 students were evacuated. There is extensive damage and experts will continue to assess the safety of the building and the clean up that is required.

Students living from the 4th to 11th floors were able to enter the building briefly Saturday afternoon to retrieve essential items.

An emergency evacuation centre was opened Saturday afternoon in the Smith Gym at the Ivor Wynn Centre and it will continue to provide shelter, cots to sleep and assistance to students. The Red Cross is operating the evacuation centre. Students who can find alternative accommodation are advised to do so until further notice.

Four students were injured. Three suffered smoke inhalation and were taken to hospital.

Updates will be provided on Sunday as new information is available."

Sunday Update:

The Ontario Fire Marshall is back on the scene today at Brandon Hall continuing his investigation into the fire at the residence that broke out early Saturday morning. Damage from the fire is extensive with significant damage to the elevators.

Brandon Hall is closed for the day and it's not yet known when investigators will turn the building back over to the University. Once the investigators turn over the building the clean up will be extensive. The University's immediate priority is to get students back into the building to retrieve essential items particularly those students from the first to third floors and those who may be returning after the weekend. Students from floors 4 to 11 were able to retrieve some personal items Saturday afternoon.

While some students did spend last night in the emergency evacuation centre in the Smith Gym at the Ivor Wynn Centre, the majority found other accommodation. Students who can find alternate accommodation are advised to do so until further notice.

Updates will continue to be provided on the Daily News, on message boards at the Commons and the evacuation centre and through the Commons help desk at ext. 27222.

The next update will be provided at 6:00 p.m.


Sunday, October 19 - 6:00 p.m. update


October 19, 2008

Brandon Hall has now been turned back over to the University by the Ontario Fire Marshall. The process of analyzing the state of the building and the extent of damage can now begin.

After the preliminary investigation by the Fire Marshall it has been determined that the fire was deliberately set and an arson investigation continues by Hamilton Police.

Limited and supervised access to the building will be possible on Monday. Students who have not yet had access to the building can retrieve essential items by meeting at the front of Brandon Hall according to the following schedule:

1:00 p.m.
First floor students
2:00 p.m.
Third floor students
3:00 p.m.
Students from other floors (except for the second floor) who have not yet been able to enter the building The heaviest damage occurred on the second floor and access to student possessions is being arranged as quickly as possible but these details are not currently available. Access to the building will be done under supervision.

Damage to the building is extensive and while the investigation by electricians, engineers and other experts is only now able to get underway, it looks like the impact on the building will be long term. The University is committed to developing the best long-term plan to provide students with accommodation and to ensure their academic year is not disrupted.

Mid-term examinations are continuing at the University. If a student feels able to write his or her exam, they should attend the exam as scheduled. Those who require any academic accommodation for missed work, missed exams or any other academic assistance should contact their Faculty office Monday morning to speak with the associate dean.

The evacuation centre is located in the Smith Gym at Ivor Wynn Centre. Cots are available along with personal care items. Residence life staff will be on duty at the evacuation centre and students in need of assistance, who would like to access university counseling or other services are encouraged to speak to residence life staff for help.

An information meeting for students and parents will be held Monday, October 20 at 7 p.m. The location is still to be determined.

Update for second floor residents of Brandon Hall


October 19, 2008

Limited and supervised access to the building will be possible on Monday. Students from the second floor of Brandon Hall will not be able to enter the building but secure arrangements have been made to collect essential items from your rooms. These items will be available for pick at 4 p.m. The location will be available in the noon information update on the Daily News and will be posted at the Commons help desk. If you cannot be available at 4:00 p.m. please visit the Commons help desk earlier in the day to make alternate arrangements. Items will not be available for pick up before 4 p.m.


UPDATE: BRANDON FIRE RELIEF AND UPDATES:
- Click here for latest updates/announcement posts found on MacInsiders
- Click here for relief discussion from students

This just goes to show that you need to take any and all fire alarms seriously, because there's always a chance that it could be something serious. This is an extremely unfortunate incident and I feel sorry for the people who were involved with setting the fire and I hope they are found! This was one of those stupid pranks that started out inocent and turned into something dangerous and actually endangered the lives of the 500 students who live there. I hope those who were injured were not injured too badly.

Here's the Hamilton Spectator article regarding the fire at Brandon Hall.

It looks like Brandon is also closed on Sunday..when will we be able to return to the residence?

We won't know until Housing finds out and e-mails us again...

The e-mail that was sent out earlier did say, "The Fire Marshall is continuing his investigation and still needs to determine how long the building will be out of service."

hey ... will our doors be locked when we eventually do go back? i already left back for toronto before they announced we cud go back in to retrive our stuff... so i still have some valuable things in my room.

This is by far the stupidest thing that has happened this year and it's only been about a month and a half. I don't understand what logic the person had when they tossed a cigarette in the elevator let alone the fact that there were newspapers in the elevator. I just hope the people that got hurt get better, especially the one living across from the elevator on the second floor. My question is why didn't the sprinklers work? This is probably insignificant but my digital camera was also stolen during all of this. I'm guessing I should report that to campus security?

Also report that to your RLS...

Noon Update:

The Ontario Fire Marshall is back on the scene today at Brandon Hall continuing his investigation into the fire at the residence that broke out early Saturday morning. Damage from the fire is extensive with significant damage to the elevators.

Brandon Hall is closed for the day and it's not yet known when investigators will turn the building back over to the University. Once the investigators turn over the building the clean up will be extensive. The University's immediate priority is to get students back into the building to retrieve essential items particularly those students from the first to third floors and those who may be returning after the weekend. Students from floors 4 to 11 were able to retrieve some personal items Saturday afternoon.

While some students did spend last night in the emergency evacuation centre in the Smith Gym at the Ivor Wynn Centre, the majority found other accommodation. Students who can find alternate accommodation are advised to do so until further notice.

Updates will continue to be provided on the Daily News, on message boards at the Commons and the evacuation centre and through the Commons help desk at ext. 27222.

The next update will be provided at 6:00 p.m.

hey... im really sorry to hear about your camera... when did u find out it was stolen? because im really worried that now the doors may all be unlocked by the firefighters and i have some valuable stuff in there...

Man that sucks about your camera. I live on the second floor so i was not able to get anything. My phone and my wallet are there. Man i have two midterms this week so i am screwed. My laptop was stolen during this past week so i had to get my physics midterm deferred now i have to get my math and programming midterms deferred too.

Report any and all thefts to Security Services. You can walk in any time, 24/7 and an officer will take your report. If you ever see something 'fishy' don't hesitate to go tell an officer. If you have any questions feel free to call them at 24281 but they won't know any more than you do when the building will be open.

Since the building is still closed no students will be able to come in and out which means your valuables should be safe, the only ones in that building right now are Police, Security and the Fire Department.

The worst part is that i dont even have my glasses. I cant read and i cant even see peoples faces.

Are they still letting people from the upper floors get their stuff? I left at noon yesterday and missed it when they did it yesterday.

No, I don't believe people are allowed in again. If you want to confirm you can call housing. Their ext is listed in the first post of this thread.

Haseeb, sounds like you're having a rough couple of days! I'm sorry that all this crap is happening at once to you. Did you report your stolen laptop?