Fire at Concord dorm quickly controlled

By Fred Pace
Register-Herald Reporter

September 30, 2008 09:46 pm

— Officials said a Monday afternoon fire that led to the evacuation of a dorm on the Athens campus of Concord University did no damage to the building.
“Each floor took in a little smoke, but there was absolutely no damage to the building at all,” Housing and Residents Life Director Rick Dillon said. “Students were evacuated at 4:30 p.m. Monday and back in the building at 6:45 p.m.”
The fire broke out in a trash chute on the bottom floor of the 10-story building about 4:30 p.m., Dillon said.
“The fire alarm system worked perfectly,” he said. “The students were evacuated and firefighters brought the fire under control immediately.”
Dillon said there was some clean-up to the building.
“We had some water and contents of fire extinguishers we had to clean up, but that was it,” he said.
Dillon said firefighters used high-powered fans to rid the building of smoke.
“Once we got the all-clear, the fire alarms were reset, tested and students were allowed back into the dorm,” he said
— E-mail: fpace@register-herald.com