Kitchen fire erupts at Hamilton Court

A small fire broke out last night in an apartment at Hamilton Court Apartments, located between 39th and Spruce Streets. The fire broke out in the kitchen of room 401C, and was contained to that apartment, Fire Chief John McGuire said last night. "The report was called in at 10:44 p.m. and was under control in 16 minutes," McGuire said. "The fire was contained in the kitchen of the apartment." Trucks from Battalion 11 had to break down locked gates to reach the apartment windows because the guard on duty did not have a key to open them, McGuire said. "We tried to get the gate open but we had no success," the fire chief said. "We had to break the gate down. I guess that's forcible entry." According to McGuire, the apartments do not have an automatic smoke detector, and the alarm was pulled by neighboring residents. "We smelled smoke and we came over and started knocking on the door," said neighbor David Edwards, a fourth-year Drexel student. "No one answered, and [my roommate] grabbed the fire extinguisher and broke the door down. My other roommate pulled the fire alarm and I called the fire department." McGuire said "it's very possible" that the lack of smoke detectors could constitute a fire code violation, but added that he was unsure of the codes for Hamilton Court buildings. But University City Housing manager Diane Tarbuck said that she did not believe that any codes had been violated. "My understanding is that the heat detectors were the only thing necessary," Tarbuck said last night. "We will be inspecting here tomorrow with the fire marshal." The scene in the parking lot outside the fire was almost festive, as students in Halloween costumes milled around, waiting to return to alarm-interrupted parties. From an unevacuated building, someone began playing We Didn't Start the Fire by Billy Joel and Burning Down the House by the Talking Heads toward the throng. But once inside, the residents of 401C were stunned by the damage. "This is a disaster," whispered Kenan Turnacioglu, a second-year graduate student. "Our whole kitchen is ruined." Turnacioglu looked at the charred walls, sopping wet floor and ruined carpet and then turned and went into the living room to check on their pet fish, which his roommates worried might have boiled due to the heat. The fish survived. "Oh my God, all are groceries are gone," exclaimed College senior Sujay Parik. "$100 of groceries, and the cabinets are all gone." It was not immediately clear what had caused the fire. According to UCH's Tarbuck, the fire department believes it was caused by a burner on the stove or by a frying pan. But Turnacioglu said that he "finds that hard to believe." "We ate dinner at 6:30, and we were here until ten," Turnacioglu said. "We didn't smell a thing."

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