Let’s help out a CB reader/Madison firefighter from the Sig Ep blaze

Kevin
May 13, 2008 at 9:33 pm

I was one of the firefighters on Engine #4. I feel for the members of this fraternity, thank god you all made it out alright! I am looking for anyone who has quality photos of this fire for my own personal use. I would love to be able to document this and be able to show my kids some of the fires their dad had to battle, this being one of the biggest in my 8 years on the department.

Post here or shoot me an e-mail to get in touch with Kevin.

Erik O picks up on something: WTF

Seriously, WTF.

WTF To This Headline

Wisconsin State Journal: “UW frat house fire: Arson?“

And then no where in the story does it say they think it’s arson. All they that “evidence from the blaze has been sent to the state Crime Laboratory to test for accelerants to determine whether the fire was arson.” They do this for every fire where they’re not sure of the cause, and they say so later in the article. But why would they choose that headline? It baffles me.

UW-Madison campus area Alder Eli Judge getting mad props

From Something Verbose:

Eli Judge was immediately on the scene of the SigEp fire and was actively trying to help in any way he could from disseminating information to finding housing for SigEps made homeless. Alder Judge’s performance last night went well above and beyond what anyone could have ever expected.

I had numerous I-Badgers confirm the above.

Check out this picture. What an action shot:

Drudge Report links to the fire/hazing allegations.

Big time story, now. Even touched on the hazing allegations.

Fraternity house burns down in Madison, WI…

…Allegation of Horror Hazing: Excrement and vomit dumped on members

(HT/ DW-t, UPenn)

The Sig Ep fire aftermath

First of all, I want to thank ALL of the I-Badger reporters, fellow bloggers (especially Steve L from Something Verbose and Matt W from DBAW), and other random students (you know who you are, but I don’t have permission to use your name… yet) for the info/pictures/stuff. I had an amazing amount of feedback last night. Great work by the campus blogosphere on this campus tragedy (hint hint, traditional news teams…). Perhaps a new era in UW-Madison history last night.

The bloggers chime in:

Something Verbose has an interesting story. Could this fire have been prevented? Was there a failure in the Greek leadership? There’s something here, media. Look into it.

But, could this have been prevented? Only two weeks ago on April 30, the Greek Community held a Fire Prevention Workshop in Humanities that was mandatory for all chapters to have a representative attend. Barb Kautz was in charge of the meeting and the Fire Marshall or someone from MFD was supposed to give a presentation. However, half an hour after the workshop was supposed to occur, all the participants were dismissed because the Fire Marshall did not show up to give the presentation and could not be reached.

Wisconsin Lounge update.

Elliot Rezny.

Some other items worth checking out:

- UW-Madison’s Sig Ep Alumni speak out:

Dear SigEp WI Beta Alumni,

Today is a tragic day for SigEp WI Beta. Last evening the SigEp house at 237 Langdon Street caught fire and is considered a total loss. Thankfully, all 28 brothers who were living at the house got out safely. During the emergency response, three Madison fire fighters suffered minor injuries and our thoughts go out to them.

At this time, we are working to find housing for displaced brothers and to help them complete finals and the semester. The Dean of Students Office, UW Greek Life Office, Red Cross and Madison Fire Department have all responded wonderfully and we would like to thank them for their support.

At this time, we do not have any specific details on the long-term plans of the Fraternity and the house. Your support of the undergraduate brothers and the Alumni Board are very much appreciated, and in the future we will distribute information on how you can assist in the recovery.

Information will be distributed via e-mail and the undergraduate and Alumni Board websites will both be updated regularly. You can contact me via e-mail, and I will respond as quickly as I am able.

We have also set up a site at www.UWGreek.com/SigEpFire.html, where the latest updates will be posted.

This is a very challenging time for our fraternity. However, we have recovered from fire before and become stronger because of it.

We will rebuild.

HFF,
Patrick Kovich

- A heroic police officer:

The first person who came to the aid of the students Monday night was Madison Police Officer Angie Dyhr.

Police spokesman Joel DeSpain said Dyhr was on routine patrol when she spotted smoke coming from the fraternity house.

“She called dispatch to have the fire department sent to the location,” DeSpain said. “Then she got out of her patrol car and saw flames engulfing the back of the house.”

Dyhr found the door to the house locked, so she started pounding on the door until a resident answered.

“She began yelling for the residents to get out,” DeSpain said. “Officer Dyhr, with the help of fraternity members, was able to make sure all were evacuated.”

She then helped notify and assist residents in neighboring homes and buildings in evacuating in case the fire would spread.

- Cost of damages (in an otherwise rude article):

This is the second time this particular frat house has suffered a fire and the estimated cost of the damages is about $750,000. I hope the boys have collected enough dues to cover that chunk of change.

CB BREAKING STORY: The UW-Madison Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity house is on fire and burning fast. Photos and I-Badger reports are coming in quickly.

“It’s about a quarter of the house on fire. I hope nobody is hurt. It’s pretty bad.”

I-Badger reports have been coming in over the last few minutes. Pictures to come soon. For the record, my first report came in at 11:44pm this evening.

Sig Ep caught on fire in 1999 as well:

Mike Blatchley
University Wire
08-30-1999
(Badger Herald) (U-WIRE) MADISON, Wis. — The fire that caused $500,000 worth of damage to the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity house earlier this summer has forced 30 UW-Madison students to find alternative housing for the fall.

UPDATES

11:50: A stream of fire trucks just went down Langdon Street screaming away with their sirens.

11:51: I-Badger report:

The fire department just put it out and then it re-flared up. The entire back of the house was and now is engulfed in flame. There are huge flames shooting out of the side.

11:54- Photos (Media, please contact me through e-mail before using):

 

11:55- I-Badger report. Everyone appears to be OK:

The fire briefly appeared in the back, then they brought it back under control, but the house is smoking heavily — the firefighters are in the process of breaking what appears to be every first floor window … people appear safe and there aren’t heroic firefighter scenes, it looks like everybody got out before the fire started … one Sig Ep member who I talked to [...] believes it was that a lot of guys smoke on the second and third floor porches and the garbage is beneath so people throw cigarettes into that garbage, so it may have been caused that way…

11:59- This story has spread quickly. Numerous people calling, texting, and e-mailing the CB. I can confirm several traditional news outlets know about the story now and are rushing over, or are currently at the scene.

12:11- An I-Badger reports that Barb Kautz, one of the advisers to the Greek System, was not informed immediately about the fire. That’s troubling.

12:12- Same I-Badger report notes that Madison Alder Eli Judge was on the scene immediately after the fire. Was trying to calm a few students.

12:14- Right now Judge is currently working to find places to sleep for the Sig Ep members. Couldn’t give me a quote, but that’s very understandable. Pretty remarkable on the ground work by him.

12:16- Another photo:

12:18- New photos from a different angle from a CB I-Reporter. Many thanks.

12:22- It appears that several buses had to be re-routed from the Langdon-area. No wonder why. Also, BH coverage at 12:08AM, with nothing on the DC or Madison.com:

A fire is burning at this hour at the Sigma Phi Epsilon house on Langdon Street.

Fire fighters are on the scene as smoke emerges from the second and third floors.

Authorities would not disclose a cause but said everyone made it out of the house safely.

Neighbors have gathered outside to try and figure out what is going on.

Check back with badgerherald.com for further updates.

12:28- I-Badger reporter thinks the entire roof is on fire and that the back of the house may collapse. The fire is clearly still going strong. Another photo:

12:29- The MPD has asked people across the street to move into their houses for safety reasons as pieces of the roof from Sig Ep are flying around Langdon Street. This is clearly serious business.

12:32- The BH is confirming what the CB reported:

According to a SigEp member, a cigarette in a dumpster caused the fire. Another SigEp member confirmed the fire started at the ground level and then erupted up to upper floors.

Amazing BH photo, great work:

12:37- UW alumni as far away as Atlanta have heard about the story. News travels fast.

12:39- From across the street you cannot even see the house anymore. Totally covered in smoke.

More photos have come in. Great shots. Like from a blimp (or just a campus-area apartment) :

Oustanding shot here — that’s University Ave. on the right side:

12:49- CB I-Reporter confirms the fire is STILL burning.

12:51- WSJ has something. Brittany Schoepp (former DCer/current night news person over at the WSJ) added in this at 12:46:

Madison firefighters were on the scene of a major fire late Monday night and early today at Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity house, 237 Langdon St.

By 12:15 a.m., the three-story building was engulfed in flames, and Madison firefighters had been ordered to withdraw from the house due to safety concerns, said Bernadette Galvez, spokeswoman for the Madison Fire Department.

Galvez said that as far as she knew, everyone had gotten out safely and no fraternity members had been hurt. Firefighters appeared to be shifting their efforts to preventing the fire from spreading to surrounding buildings.

Galvez said it was a “second alarm” fire, meaning the department sent twice as many trucks as usual.

Shortly before midnight, most of the visible flames were toward the back of the building, away from Langdon Street. But the blaze spread quickly and flames could be seen spewing high into the sky from every floor.

Though authorities blocked off part of Langdon Street to traffic, more than 200 people were standing outside on the sidewalks watching the blaze.

Sigma Phi Epsilon was in the news last week, after UW-Madison authorities said they were looking into a possible reverse hazing incident at the fraternity in which human excrement and vomit were dumped on fraternity members. No one was hurt in that incident, said Kevin Helmkamp, associate dean of students.

1:00- Wisconsin Lounge has some great photos they put up moments ago. One of the futures of campus blogging steps up to the plate big time. Nice job.

1:08- Wow. It’s like a cluster bomb or something. Just wow. Oh, and I can confirm the fire is STILL going. An I-Badger believes it started at 11:40, right before I was initially contacted.

1:11- Direct link to the Madison Fire Department radio feed if you want to listen in. 

1:13- They seemed to suggest on that feed a side of the house might collapse… unclear…

1:16- Someone may have been hurt. Perhaps a firefighter, according to the feed…

1:18- They are down “one firefighter” so it seems that in fact, one of the people fighting the fire is hurt. Unclear how serious it is.

1:25- From the BH:

Slideshow on the fire. Solid pictures. Even Smathers took a few.

Also:

Ald. Eli Judge, District 8, said places to sleep have been found for all the fraternity members.

1:28- I-Badger reporter says that flames are shooting STRAIGHT UP from the ROOF of the house. Pieces of the house are falling on to parts of Langdon Street.

“Literally they are shooting into the air. The roof might be collapsing… Someone from the water department said they are literally diverting all of the water they possibly can to this blaze. The fire department just simply cannot get the water they need. They need more water. The East and West side has low water pressure and all available water pressure is being diverting to fighting this fire.

And also:

The trees on 233 Langdon Street are periodically catching fire, but being put up by water.

1:31- An I-Badger reporter claims to have smelled the fire before 11:40, they think it started perhaps around 11:30…

1:33- The State-Gilman intersection is a “river” according to an I-Badger reporter — connected to the water problem as reported above?

1:44- An I-Badger reports there are six firetrucks in front of the house and the “fourth floor” (which might be an attic) is totally gone.

1:55- There was some type of collapse and some building on W. Gilman has flooded. There is clearly some water problem in the city. I smell an audit….?

2:20- This is an amazing picture from the Daily Cardinal. One of the best I have ever seen and one of the first (if not, THE first) from the back of the house, which is pretty much destroyed.

 

 

So, how are finals treating you?

What’s going on out there in campus-land?

Disturbing news passed on to a UW Student: An I-Badger feeds the CB this tidbit on how the state government of Wisconsin continues to hurt UW-Madison students.

UHS performs the most HIV tests in the entire state and as a result the state government has decided to cut funds and change UHS’s testing policy for students. Soon, only students deemed “high risk” - drug use, men who have sex with men etc. will be eligible to receive the 30 min test (which provides a quick, mostly reliable turnover to let students know their HIV status).

HIV rates on THIS campus have quadrupled this year. Given that students are already hesitant to get tested, what a counterproductive message – not to mention incredibly unsafe. Thanks, state government!

You asked, I answer: How were cops to you during Mifflin?

You were way to nice
May 10, 2008 at 5:21 pm · Edit

a great deal of the officers acted like dicks to the students. you should ask for student input CB

So, let ‘em rip. Tell us some of your Mifflin police stories. Were they excessive in their force? Too nice? Share a beer with you? Use your bathroom?

Farewell, Erik. The Hippie Perspective: final words.

Not necessarily his last blog post, but final column. For all you seniors out there, I hope you share Erik’s sentiments. I know I do.

Well done, sir.

My time here has been the best experience of my life, and I’m proud that UW-Madison played a pivotal role in changing who I am. As I leave here, I see that this university has made a valuable imprint on me that I will cherish forever. I only hope that I’vemade an imprint on this university, and that I can live up to its expectations. Now let’s get started: The world’s not going to change itself.

 

It has been confirmed to me: CB poster blondie, does exist.

She is an actual human. A female, with blonde hair.

For those of you do not know, she is a poster over at CollegeOTR who no one has been able to quite figure out.

Also found out?

Men were lost, but in the end the covert opt was worth it.  A team of highly trained combatants infiltrated the compound of Germain E. Stemme, only to discover that is was none other than Sol E. Grosskopf.

Check out this little nugget on UW “abuse” of Adderall

Shiv/Shill/Shine picks up on a trend in the traditional press:

His “gee, it’s exam time at the UW” piece, alongside that toppled over-the-counter bottle, was teased as a top 5 story all Wednesday. While the pills bear no resemblance whatsoever* to any form of Adderall, generic or otherwise, his 1882 words bear every resemblance to a piece that has re-run nearly every year, from 2001-present, in the Badger Herald. There’s no news-value added, but drug “trend”+busybody readership=pageviews. Maybe the Cap Times really does understand the internet!

Is it exam time? Oh great. Another generic story on the same topic.

Update on Sig Ep case

- Video from NBC 15 on the story. Highlights Alpha Gamma Rho, a fraternity notorious on Langdon for being pro-Greek reform, generally backing administrative reforms in the system and “self-policing” of the UW Greek community. It’s unclear if they filed a report against Sig Ep.

- How seriously can we take the UW Greek community to policy/investigate itself? Remember the last time there were hazing allegations? ASM-style, it’s government couldn’t even get enough people to show up for a hearing.

The University of Wisconsin Interfraternity Council failed to meet quorum Wednesday on an appeal hearing for two UW fraternities accused of hazing.

- This BH editorial. I liked how he connected the UW Band incident and Mr. “Prez” Delgado.

This is a gross generalization, certainly, but even if Bucketgate is an anomaly, it seems obvious that it is an anomaly that will continue as long as the Greek system is simply a bunch of people who pay a lot of money to live together. Without a specific goal to work toward, there will always be those who simply treat their position like a joke. Just ask Senior Class President Oliver Delgado. And if a joke is really all some fraternities and sororities want to be — and if no one is being degraded for the punchline — fine. But the Greek community will continue to be slung through the mud as long as it recruits its members under the two faces of community and beer bong leadership.

- Anyone notice the absurd amount of comments on the Sig Ep related stories? Something like 130 last time I checked the original BH story. My comment section was still going as of this morning.

- I noticed a BH trend in coverage. Don’t know what that is about. Sig Ep seemed more happy with the DC coverage and I heard the DC has more Greek staff members, but I cannot confirm the later.

Kinda late, but better than never: My thoughts on Mifflin

The BH ed board and I seem to agree:

The idea, as we understand it, seems to be that a sponsor could lend some legitimacy to the event (as it exists now, nobody steps up to apply for a block permit, thus making it an event not officially recognized by the city). The sponsor would organize appropriate security measures with the city and be accountable for any liability that could result. And the city’s official acknowledgement of a block party would pave the way for open intoxicants on the street.

The spike in arrests began at the 2004 block party, about a year after Mayor Dave Cieslewicz took office and only weeks after Noble Wray assumed the position of acting police chief. It seems reasonable to conclude at least one of these two men is the main culprit. City officials owe students an explanation for this odious trend.

We see no reason to object to a private sponsor stepping forward and taking some control in future years. If Mr. Verveer can use his influence to that end, we offer our tentative support. We do not, however, think securing a sponsor should be a prerequisite for relaxed enforcement of the law.

What no one wants to see happen is for this event to take a turn for the worse. A strong police presence will help guard against a repeat of 1996, but strict police enforcement of petty violations will not.

I have a hard time believing Mayor Dave and Chief Wray couldn’t discuss the policing tactics (given the Mayor can’t directly control them). Then again, exactly what incentive would the Mayor have to be a voice for students?

For most, the cops were pretty reasonable. But at times, they were excessive. The cops that spoke normally and did not act like Soviet guards were — in my view — given equal respect. Yelling at students not to cross the road, instead of explaining to them why they needed to wait for street cleaners to go by, will never be a good policy.

The part in red? So true. Doesn’t surprise me Mayor Dave was so hated in the little CB focus group.

New UW-Madison blog: The Wisconsin Lounge — And the 2008 UW-Madison speakers for graduation

From what I gather, it’s Sol Grosskopf and Alex Gallagher teaming up together on the project. Two HUGE names with more campus insider knowledge than the CB. Should provide great entertainment and information next year. Compliments Fearless Sifting well.

By nature, these guys are well-connected. [CB Update] Ginger in the comments noted my mistake — they did not break the news about the speakers. However, given their involvement on campus, I’m sure they have an impressive list of contacts.

And they pointed this out first in the blogosphere:

The two speakers were announced today. Shirley Abrahamson, WI Supreme Court Chief Justice, will speak at the 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. ceremonies on Saturday, May 17th.

Kay Koplovitz, CEO of Koplovitz & Co., will speak at both ceremonies on the 18th. She was the founder of the USA networks and is the first woman to serve as president of a TV network.

The WI Lounge has caught wind that these people were near the bottom of a 20-person list… stay tuned, maybe it will get posted

Both women. Firsts. Jews? Politics. Interesting to note, given the students who helped.

I don’t mind Koplovitz. I look forward to the day — er, not really. Don’t make me leave.