Fourth fire in Morrison Dorm at UNC - Chapel Hill

At 04:15 this morning the fire alarm rang at Morrison Dorm for the fourth
time in five days announcing the presence of fire on the 6th floor.  This
time the fire was in a locked student lounge, which was gutted.  Once again
Chapel Hill firefighters contained the fire to room of origin using the
standpipe system.  The fire was very similar to previous fires.  There were
no injuries in this morning's fire.

On Thursday morning (11-18-99) there was a trash can fire in the 7th floor
common kitchen at 01:30 followed by a room & contents fire in the 4th floor
student lounge at 03:30.  On Friday (11-19-99) there was a room & contents
fire in the 6th floor study room.  The weekend was quiet.

Thanks to surveillance work on the part of UNC Police, an arrest has been
made in this morning's incident.  A 19yo white male was observed in the area
immediately prior to the fire and was identified by Police.  he is a
resident of the 6th floor and a Junior at UNC.  The investigation is
ongoing.  The investigation is a cooperative effort of the Chapel Hill Fire
Marshal's office, UNC Police and the State Bureau of Investigation.

Following the evacuation problems of Thursday's incidents UNC Police and
Housing identified at least 34 residents who will receive disciplinary
actions for failing to follow fire evacuation procedures.  The evacuations
Friday and Monday went well with only a few stragglers.  There will be
follow-up meetings involving all agencies and the student leadership to
address the long term issues of evacuation of the residence halls.

Dan Jones
Fire Chief, Chapel Hill NC
University of North Carolina
Phone  919-968-2783
Fax    919-932-2956
Page   919-216-1499
302 N. Columbia Street
Chapel Hill, NC 27516