NO ONE INJURED IN RESIDENCE HALL FIRE

	COLUMBUS -- No one was injured in a fire that broke out shortly 
before midnight Sunday (2/8) on the fifth floor of Morrill Tower, a 
24-story residence hall housing more than 900 Ohio State University 
students.  All residents were evacuated while the Columbus Fire 
Department extinguished the fire and removed smoke from the building.  
Most students were able to return to their rooms between 1:30 and 2:30 
a.m. today, about two to two and a half hours after the alarm sounded 
at 11:49 p.m.  Residents of the fifth floor and other areas with 
smoke, water or other damage were offered housing in other university 
facilities.  Fourteen students spent the night at the Fawcett Center.  
Others chose to stay with friends.

	The building is open and in use today, with most areas showing no 
signs of the fire or smoke.  Damage was limited to the fourth, fifth 
and sixth floors, with only minimal damage (from water) on floors 4 
and 6.  Clean-up and repair efforts began immediately, and university 
officials expect that most affected rooms will be ready for re-
occupancy late today.  Others may take another two to three days’ work 
before they are habitable.  The fire itself was contained in the room 
it began in, a bedroom in Suite 550.  The most extensive damage is in 
that suite, which may take as long as three weeks to completely 
repair.

	The Department of Housing, Food Services and Event Centers is 
working with the affected students to meet their immediate needs.  
Along with helping students who lost clothing, books and other 
belongings, Ohio State’s Student Advocacy Center is available to help 
students make arrangements with faculty about missed classwork, 
extended deadlines for papers or exams or other academic difficulties 
caused by the fire.

	At this time, the cause of the fire has not been determined,
but it appears to be accidental.  The state fire marshal is 
investigating.  An estimate of damage is not yet available.

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Contact: William Hall, assistant vice president for student affairs, 
292-4251.