Monday’s fire at Zeta Beta Tau was “a wake up call” to examine the process by which fraternity houses are maintained, according to ZBT Trustee Neal Abrams.
Maintenance requests for University-managed chapter houses are handled by the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs facilities team, University spokeswoman Lori Doyle wrote in an e-mail.
“Overall, we have found this system to work very well,” she wrote.
Fraternity or sorority members with maintenance requests fill out an online form which goes to OFSA’s facilities manager. An action plan is typically initiated within a day, and the office informs the student that the job is complete.
“I think in retrospect it’s going to be a positive,” Abrams said, referring to the fire.
Though the Philadelphia Fire Department classified the fire’s cause as “undetermined” — a standard used when no probable cause for a fire can be identified — Abrams said an OFSA representative made it “clear and unambiguous” that the fire started in a faulty switch box in a closet on the house’s first floor.
In response to the question of whether the fire could have been prevented by better maintenance, Doyle wrote, “Since we don’t yet know the cause of the fire, it would be premature to speculate on what could have been done to prevent it.”
OFSA Director Scott Reikofski and ZBT President and Wharton junior Joe Schinco did not return requests for comment.
- Fire broke out at around 10:30 a.m. Monday at the ZBT house near 39th and Spruce streets - Cause of the fire was deemed “undetermined,” meaning inspectors could not identify a probable cause - Brothers are being housed in the Sheraton hotel until they can move back in
OFSA arranged for ZBT brothers to be housed at the Sheraton Hotel.
According to Abrams, the brothers’ temporary housing situation has improved since Monday night, when “five to six” were housed in a College House. The accommodation situation was not ideal, as “they didn’t have toilet paper.”
“We are reasonably happy with the situation. It’s as good as it can be,” he said. “OFSA is working as hard as they can.”
Abrams said OFSA has hired contractors to work on the house.
“We’ll probably see most of the guys back in the house by Monday,” he said. “I don’t anticipate [the workers] being out of the house by the weekend.”
He added that OFSA’s initial estimate that brothers would return to the house today was “far too optimistic.”
“I’m glad the house is going to be okay,” College sophomore and ZBT Academic Chair Jason Ketover said. “The situation could have been a lot worse.”
Engineering sophomore and ZBT Philanthropy Chair Craig Schwait said he is glad that OFSA made arrangements for brothers to eat at Houston Hall.
“I wasn’t on a meal plan,” he said. “Our cook usually prepares meals on weekends.”
- Fire broke out at around 10:30 a.m. Monday at the ZBT house near 39th and Spruce streets - Cause of the fire was deemed “undetermined,” meaning inspectors could not identify a probable cause - Brothers are being housed in the Sheraton hotel until they can move back in
