Fire in Kirwan 1 residence hall under investigation
November 7, 2012
By Drew Teague
UK Police issued a crime bulletin for criminal mischief and attempted arson on campus early Wednesday afternoon.
The crime bulletin said there have been three separate incidents in the South Campus residence hall of Kirwan 1.
Most recently, on Nov. 6, it was reported to UKPD “that the 1st floor bathroom had a strong burning smell with burned toilet paper and ash residue” at approximately 10:30 p.m.
While UKPD investigated the incident, they discovered “two additional fire incidents had recently occurred.”
These other fire incidents occurred on Oct. 27 and Nov. 1.
The Oct. 27 incident occurred in the basement of Kirwan 1.
“It was noticed that a portion of poster board located in the basement of Kirwan 1 residence hall had been burned,” according to the crime bulletin.
The second fire incident on Nov. 1 occurred on the second floor of the hall.
“Burned paper towels were discovered near the trash can in the 2nd floor bathroom of Kirwan 1 residence hall,” according to the crime bulletin.
The crime bulletin also said the incidents are independent of one another at this point, with no injuries reported from the three incidents.
Kirwan 1 is one of the two male-only residence halls on campus, the other being Haggin Hall on Central Campus.
The Department of Residence Life, which runs the residence halls, emailed a statement to the Kernel about their efforts with the incidents.
The email, from Stephen Stauffer, associate director for Residential Operations, said they are working closely with UKPD and the UK fire marshall in an effort to investigate the incidents “as quickly and as efficiently as possible.”
“We are also working with the RA staff to plan floor meetings with the residents to review the incidents, see if anyone knows anything and remind residents of the policies regarding fire safety in the halls,” Stauffer said. “The main thing is we want the incidents to stop and make sure that Kirwan 1 is a safe place for the residents to live.”
UKPD asks anyone with information associated with these incidents to call them at (859) 257-8573.
