On the morning of September 1st there was a fire reported at the New Residential Complex building as a result of a candle being left unsupervised.
According to Norfolk State’s Housing and Residence Office, the fire displaced approximately 30 students residing at the hall due to the water damage from the sprinklers. 20 rooms were affected by a power outage.
Students affected by the water damage and power outage were placed in hotels associated with the university until their rooms could be restored.
The Norfolk Fire Department and Norfolk State Police were dispatched to the scene and responded to the situation immediately. The university opened the Student Center on campus to hold the vacated students during the hours of the fire.
The university provided students with shuttle transportation to those placed in the hotels. This allowed the students forced to relocate to continue their classes while staying off campus.
The students who were left unaffected by the water damage and fire were allowed to report back to their rooms after the incident. There were no injuries reported.
Students such as Sunni Green, Autumn Mendonca, Jaeloni Smith, and Lani Gibbons were affected by the incident.
During the hours of the fire, Autumn and her roommate Jaeloni had to relocate with the other residents of New Residential to the Student Center, they said during their interview. This allowed them and their friends to safely find shelter during the accident.
Resident Sunni Green and her suitemate Lani Gibbons were affected by the displacement of students due to the water damage to their rooms.
As a result of the water damage, students like Sunni and her roommate were taken to a Holiday Inn Hotel, one of the hotels the university partners with. Both students stayed there until their rooms were restored on September 5th.
As a result of the dorm fire, the official Norfolk State Housing and Residence Life social media page released informative videos as a way of bringing awareness to students.
The video posted on their page reiterates the prohibited items and the consequences of breaking regulations within the residential community. The safety videos are to help enforce school safety and allow the community of the university to utilize the dormitories to their full extent.
Spartan Echo 