Electrical overload causes fire at frat house

Firefighters gather outside the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity house after a fire late last night forced brothers onto the streets.

A fire at the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity house early yesterday morning was caused by an electrical overload, according to the Division of Public Safety.

The fraternity house, located at 4040 Walnut St., was evacuated at about 3:30 a.m. when brothers reported seeing smoke billowing from a second-floor bedroom.

All of the residents - 20 to 25 people - were evacuated from the house and one resident was taken to the Penn Presbyterian Medical Center to be treated for smoke inhalation, said Sgt. Joe Risoli of the Penn Police.

The fire was contained in one bedroom on the second floor, said Eugene Janda, chief of fire and emergency services for the Penn Police.

The blaze was caused by a circuit overload, due to a large number of electrical devices plugged into power strips, according to Janda and Vice President for Public Safety Maureen Rush. The circuits overheated, causing a mattress to ignite.

Rush said West Philadelphia's power grid is not equipped to handle setups in which multiple refrigerators and microwaves are located in each bedroom - the situation that caused yesterday's fire.

The student was in stable condition by mid-morning, Rush said.

Pi Kapp President and College junior Dan Kroese said a few people broke down the door to the student's bedroom, where the fire reportedly originated, and pulled him out.

"We pulled him from the room and we pulled him outside," said Wharton sophomore Brandon Bagley, a Pi Kapp brother.

Kroese added that he spoke yesterday afternoon with the student and he had been released from the hospital.

A Pi Kapp brother who lives in the house and wished to remain anonymous said many brothers ran in and out of the building multiple times to make sure everyone was out.

He added that firefighters also climbed into the second floor via ladders, breaking windows in the process.

The residents and others who were woken up by the commotion gathered in small groups outside the house where two charred mattresses lay on the sidewalk.

House residents were allowed back inside relatively quickly, though an Allied Barton security guard was stationed at the building.

Risoli added that Campus Apartments, the landlord of the residence, was notified.

To prevent electrical fires, Janda said students should not attach power strips to other power strips and should plug large appliances, like refrigerators, directly into wall outlets.

Rush added that the students affected by the fire were "very fortunate" the house had a "state-of-the-art protection system in place." Both the fire alarm and sprinkler system were activated.

Damage was mostly limited to one room, but there was minor water damage in the rest of the house, Kroese said.

"By Monday when we get back, the house should pretty much be as good as new," he added.

Managing Editor-elect Rebecca Kaplan, City News Editor-elect Emily Schultheis and Online Editor-elect Emily Babay contributed reporting to this article.

Comments (21)

How dare you question the VP for Public Safety as he knows all things safety. In fact, the Public Safety Fire Chief consults the VP on everything.

[QUOTE id="9a96e166-5b2a-4f94-aba4-5ef3eda4f84e"]How dare you question the VP for Public Safety as he knows all things safety. In fact, the Public Safety Fire Chief consults the VP on everything.[/QUOTE] Are you being ironic?

Shudve let it burn.

That place has always been disgusting. Should be condemned.

this article really doesn't justify the extent of this fire. Smoke and flames could be seen pouring out of the 3rd floor windows. A brother rushed back in the burning building to break down a door of a trapped brother's room.

The bravery and heroism of the brothers who risked their lives to save a fellow student should be commended.

[QUOTE id="6878892c-b047-4c0e-af10-409fc042827f"]The bravery and heroism of the brothers who risked their lives to save a fellow student should be commended.[/QUOTE] That should make up for all of the date rape drugs they have administered over the years.

As a member of Pi Kapp, I couldn't agree with "Juice81" more. His room was filled with heavy black smoke. The students broke through the door not even knowing whether a brother was even inside the room. Fortunately, they found and rescued him. And "Beth", this is a serious story in the Daily Pennsylvanian, not juicy campus.

Glad to know all the pi kapps are alright. I can't believe CA got you guys a "state of the art fire system" . . . unless the house manager got it. We were lucky if they fixed the doors on the back of the building so we wouldn't have vagrants sleep on the lovely black leather couches. FMB, Madrid

Did the VP of public safety really blame this on Philadelphia's power grid can't handle multiple refrigerators in a room? I don't think so. It's the house wiring that is not set up for that level of consumption, not the power grid.

[QUOTE id="cda969ba-c441-453e-9e29-8832d920ba62"]As a member of Pi Kapp, I couldn't agree with "Juice81" more. His room was filled with heavy black smoke. The students broke through the door not even knowing whether a brother was even inside the room. Fortunately, they found and rescued him. And "Beth", this is a serious story in the Daily Pennsylvanian, not juicy campus.[/QUOTE] Glad everyone is okay, and the guys' heroism is admirable. This sounds pretty scary. Though this is not relevant to the story, I feel obligated to respond to Beth and Amy. I'm not aware of the back story of the allegations, but as a recent Alum, I can guarantee that the brothers I knew would NEVER do something so despicable. If we found out a guy had, he would be immediately thrown out of the house and never allowed back in.

Pi Kapps have been covering up incidents for years and while most probably would not engage in the above noted activities there are some who would and have done so. I don't know how a Pi Kapp alum could say something like this would NEVER happen. Just ask anyone in the know about there drunken hazing rituals.

Sounds like someone didn't get a bid.

If the "state of the art system" worked...why does the article credit the "commotion" with waking the students. Why did the alarm not sound early enough to awaken the student in the room and the others in the house? I'd be interested in hearing more about this "state of the art system" they had in place.

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