TWU dorm catches fire, cleared for re-entry
Joshua Knopp / News Editor
The bottom floor of TWU’s Stark Hall was briefly aflame around 11 p.m. Sunday night.
Public safety director Elizabeth Pauley said a drying machine that was not in use had an electrical problem that started a fire. The sprinkler system put it out, but caused enough smoke to trigger a fire alarm an evacuate the building. The fire department quickly arrived, and the building was cleared before midnight.
Provost and vice president for academic affairs Bob Neely said the emergency alerts and evacuation plans all went smoothly.
“All the vice presidents were in contact with each other immediately,” Neely said. “Everything worked out as it should.”
Housing director Joe Berthiaume said it is too early to tell what went wrong with the dryer.
Feature Photo: A Denton Fire rescue truck sits outside TWU’s Stark Hall after a small fire saw the building evacuated. Photo by Joshua Knopp – News Editor
Glad they retrofitted that dorm with fire sprinklers,. It could have been bad news for all the residents without it.