Phi Delta Theta brothers escape from senior house fire
“It was very surreal. Everyone had the same look on their face, like we had no idea what had just happened.”
Most senior fraternity members end their college careers with fond memories of parties and keggers, pledging and brotherhood. But the senior members of the Phi Delta Theta Fraternity have a different set of memories. Their senior year will forever be associated by the massive fire that tore their senior house apart.
Fire damage on the Phi Delta Theta Senior House
On Jan. 22, a fire spread through the Phi Delta senior house on 908 S. Oak St. Daniel Oversen, IB major and resident of the house, said all 14 housemates discovered the fire and escaped between 3:30 am and 4:15 am that friday morning. The cause of the fire is still unknown.
Daniel was asleep when he first heard the fire alarm. Groggy and confused, Daniel immediately had to wake himself up when he heard the cries of his brothers and saw the flames.
“The fire was large,” Daniel said. “The entire front half of the house was on fire. It has been said that the fire originated at the front of the house. The heat was extremely intense on the staircase.”
In a haze of adrenaline and anxiety, the brothers worked together to make sure everyone was safely out of the building. Uncertain about the safety of leaving from the door, the brothers devised a plan for a second story window escape using a mattress.
“To be honest, it is tough to recall the mattress escape clearly because it all happened very quickly, but five of my friends, three fraternity brothers and two of their girlfriends, threw out a mattress from the bedroom they were in and then proceeded to jump from the window onto the mattress below, one by one,” he said.
Daniel is relieved all his friends escaped unharmed, but he’s still confused about the entire ordeal.
“I was in complete shock when we were all out of the building and had escaped the fire,” he said. “It was very surreal. Everyone had the same look on their face, like we had no idea what had just happened.”
Daniel reported that none of treasured belongings were damaged in the fire. As of now, he and five of his brothers have moved into the Distillery as their gets fixed. The junior Phi Delta Theta members have offered their assistance in housing the displaced seniors. Daniel hopes this fire doesn’t negatively affect their spring rush.