Off-campus- Boston University
Narrator
The most tragic fires in January were the ones that occurred off-campus. Boston University students were trapped when a fire broke out in an off-campus house. The fire happened on a cold, snowy, Sunday morning, forcing students to jump from windows on all three floors of the building.
David Goldenberg
Life rides on the edge of a dime and you can have a tragic accident that can happen and change your life within minutes.
Alex Epner
Around 7 am, I think, we woke up to the smoke detector. I thought, we both thought it was my roommates alarm so I rolled over and tried to go to sleep like nothing was happening. When it didn’t stop, my girlfriend actually got up and noticed, mentioned to me, that there was smoke coming in through the door. And that’s when I first realized that something was going on. My roommate Benjy had to jump out of the second floor. Josh jumped out of the third floor, he was the only one that lived on the third floor.
Josh Goldenberg
I think the first thing I remember is waking in the rehab hospital for the first time, looking around, looking at my feeding tube, and looking at my bandages on my neck and being really mad.
David Goldenberg
Josh was hospitalized for about 11 weeks after his accident, two of them he was in a coma in ICU at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital and for the remainder of his hospitalization he was recuperating at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital.
So one of the first problems we had to drop everything in our lives to be at the bedside.
Josh Goldenberg
I can’t see, I can’t speak, I can’t walk, it’s like, I don’t know, it’s just weird new existence.
My speech is not what it used to be because of my brain injury. I’m not sure if it affected my hearing because I think it actually helped my hearing because my sight is really poor right now.
David Goldenberg
I am sure, I am sure that every single parent that I interact with, parents of college age students are a lot more vigilant about checking smoke detectors and checking for sprinkler systems and checking for fire escapes and checking for college policies about these things because everyone of them understands that devastating accidents can happen very quickly and it is just another risk that you have to add to all of the other risks that you send with your child off to college.
Alex Epner
Fire safety is definitely a concern to me know. I couldn’t imagine living in a place with a smoke detector or a sprinkler or a fire escape.
The fire has really put things in perspective for me. It’s not all the things that you have that are really important. Everything can be replaced. It’s the people who are around you and your family and everyone that comes out to help you when you really need it, that really makes the difference.
Suffolk University
Narrator
A fire broke out in the basement of a four-story, off-campus apartment building where a Suffolk University student lived. The fire spread quickly up a stairwell into all four floors of the building.
Allie Wheeler
I woke up to the fire alarm.
Newscaster
Then came the sirens
Allie Wheeler
I assumed we would have to be evacuated.
Newscaster
Allie Wheeler hurried to the living room.
Allie Wheeler
Down the hallway, I couldn’t see anything, out the front door I couldn’t see anything.
Newscaster
She panicked and called her roommate who was outside.
Allie Wheeler
I’m like, what am I supposed to do? How am I supposed to get out?
Newscaster
Her roommate said the rear staircase.
Allie Wheeler
I couldn’t see anything, I didn’t put my glasses on, I basically just tried running.
Newscaster
A second roommate tried to find her.
Allie Wheeler
He tried to come and rescue me and he made it to level 2 and couldn’t make it up past that.
Newscaster
Smoke consumed everything. Fire fighters raced to knock down the flames, Wheeler pressed her face to the screen to find oxygen.
Allie Wheeler
I passed out, I woke up, you know, on the stairs, on my face.
Newscaster
She grabbed her cell phone and called her roommate again.
Allie Wheeler
All of a sudden I heard a fireman climbing the stairs, yelling.
Newscaster
What was he yelling?
Allie Wheeler
Like “hello, hello” and I just yelled out “hi, help me, I’m here.”
Marist College
Narrator
The worst fire was one that happened at Poughkeepsie, New York. Eva Block, Kerry Rose Fitzsimons and Kevin Johnson were killed in an off-campus fire at Marist College.
Bob Fitzsimons
9/11 in New York was the most devastating day of my life. I was part of the rescue and recovery down there for a few days afterwards. I never thought I would see or feel as devastated as that. When I found out Kerry was gone, this is my personal 9/11 right now.
I know Maryanne and I have to be strong because we have two other children. We’ll never have a normal life. People say there’s, you have to reinvent yourself. I don’t know how we’re going to do that, I really don’t. Life will never be the same, it just won’t be the same. You go on, you go through the motions every day, it’s just extremely difficult, extremely difficult.
Kerry Rose was awesome. Good days, a good day I guess would be a day we didn’t cry. We haven’t had a good day yet.
Just be extremely careful where your children live. Make sure every possible fire safety device that could be installed in the house is there. Just tell your kids, make them so aware of the dangers that could happen to them.
You know what Kerry’s mistake was? She went to bed that night. That was her only mistake.