A May 5 afternoon fire only days before the start of finals week created havoc for students living in Dillon Stables, a 30-unit apartment building at 102 W. Phoenix in Normal.
Though some students were home at the time, none were injured in the blaze that grew quickly and caused major damage throughout the building. Normal’ s Fire Chief described it as a “very difficult” fire; several firefighters were treated for minor injuries. The building was home to nearly 100 Illinois State students. Illinois State’ s Critical Incident Response Team in the Division of Student Affairs mobilized to help the affected students in a variety of ways:
- Residence hall housing was made available to those who wanted it.
- The Red Cross set up a resource room in the Bone Student Center to help students with basic needs.
- Students who lost their Redbird ID cards were given new ones free of charge.
- Professors were e-mailed the names of students affected by the fire and encouraged to place course materials on reserve at Milner Library and to be understanding of the students’ situation.
The Daily Vidette provided major coverage of the fire, including some remarkable photos; see the May 6 and May 9 issues, available in the Online Edition “Archived Issues” http://www.dailyvidette.org.
