Quad room fire evacuates dorm

College freshman Susan Peters thought yesterday's fire alarm in the Community House section of the Quadrangle was simply another drill. But Peters found out four hours later that the alarm sounded due to a fire in her first-floor Warwick room. According to Residential Maintenance Associate Director Al Zuino, the fire began in the room's trash can at about 1:30 p.m. yesterday afternoon. Assistant Dean in Residence Diana Koros said she was in the area and smelled smoke. A maintenance employee was in the hallway as well and both began to investigate the situation. When the smell of smoke became worse, they pulled the fire alarm, called the Philadelphia Fire Department and evacuated the building. Koros praised the fire department for coming to the scene quickly and preventing more damage from occurring. "It could have been much, much worse," she said. When firefighters arrived, they saw flames peeking out from the bottom of the door. They then knocked the door down and found the fire in the trashcan, which was right next to the door, Resident Advisor and Wharton senior Jon Brightbill said. "You could see it was smoldering and working its way up the wall," Brightbill added, noting that if the response time had been longer, the fire could have gotten "out of control" or the sprinklers could have gone off, causing major water damage. The Quad is not equipped with smoke detectors in the halls or rooms. Zuino said the dormitory's full sprinkler system fills the need for detectors. The sprinklers were not activated yesterday because the heat from the fire was not intense enough, Zuino said. Brightbill said this incident demonstrates that the dorm "absolutely" needs smoke detectors, adding that the sprinklers would have done more harm than good. Although the fire fighters put the fire out quickly , smoke damaged furniture, floor boards and some personal property, Zuino said. He said a match in the trash can may have caused the fire. But both Peters and her roommate, College freshman Alina Umansky, denied putting a match in the trashcan. Neither could recall doing anything that might have caused the fire. At the time, Peters was in the Ashhurst lounge, studying for a math exam. She reluctantly left the building as the fire alarm rang, believing that it was "just another drill." Koros noted that this is an example of the need to leave the building upon hearing an alarm. "I don't think everybody left," she said. "It's an inconvenience, but people need to get out." Umansky was in an economics class when the fire erupted. Upon returning to her room after class, she was told about the fire -- and did not believe her hallmates until she saw the damage. After checking the electronic equipment in the room and finding no damage, Umansky was told that she and her roommate could not stay in their room until everything was painted and repaired. Peters did not find out what happened until more than four hours later. She added that she had been having one of the "worst weeks of my whole life" when she learned of the fire. Officials offered them an empty room in Goldberg House, but they turned it down. Each are staying with a friend until fall break, when they will be leaving campus. Their possessions being stored in Community House. Residential Maintenance has offered to have their clothes dry cleaned. Zuino said the students should be able to move into their room "sometime next week." Umansky said a new door had already been installed last night.