Delta Tau Delta frat house fire declared arson

Officials have no suspects yet The fire at the Delta Tau Delta fraternity house has been ruled a case of arson, according to Henry Dolberry, the administrative assistant to the Philadelphia Fire Commissioner. "It was deliberately set," Dolberry said. "It was an open flame to cardboard boxes." So far, there are no suspects in the case, he added. "The investigation will go until information can be revealed," Dolberry said. "That can go on for a long time." After the cardboard boxes were lit in the rear of the basement of the house at 39th and Sansom streets, nearby wooden shelves caught on fire, he said. The blaze was reported to the Philadelphia Fire Department at about 12:20 a.m. In order to clear the street for the five fire trucks that responded, University and Philadelphia Police sealed off 39th Street from Walnut to Chestnut streets, and Sansom Street from 38th to 40th streets. The one alarm fire was contained to the rear of the basement, however, and was under control by 12:51 a.m. -- about 30 minutes after it began. Although two DTD brothers had to go to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania for smoke inhalation, there were no serious injuries. Fourteen brothers are living temporarily in the W.E.B. DuBois College House because of smoke damage to the DTD house. In addition, the electricity has been shut down. It is unclear when the brothers will be able to return to the fraternity house. "I know Tricia Phaup [director of the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs] was running around dealing with the situation," College senior and Interfraternity Council president Hayden Horowitz said last night. "I'll make a point of it to find out some information tonight or tomorrow." Horowitz said he would not speculate if the fire was set by a rivaling fraternity. While the fire was being put out Sunday night, DTD brothers at the scene said they had been looking for a new house, and that their current house has been cited in the past for not meeting fire codes. A University police officer speaking on the condition of anonymity said fire department officials were upset that the house had bars on every first floor window and many of the second floor windows in addition to other code violations. Last month there was an electrical fire at the house, and the landlord installed smoke detectors just last week in response to a fraternity member's mother's complaints, brothers said.

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