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.

Jump to Comments

“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.

 

 

34 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized