A three-alarm fire at a State College apartment complex resulted in a partial roof collapse and drove 48 student residents from their apartments.
The fire, which is believed to have started on the exterior and moved to the third floor of the three-story Building 13 at The Park at State College apartment complex at 348 Blue Course Drive broke out around 7:30 p.m. By 8:15 p.m. Alpha Fire Company reported that crews could no longer see visible flames and were mostly dealing with steam. The blaze was marked under control at that time.
The apartment building housed 48 students who lost their homes and belongings in the fire, according to Penn State spokeswoman Lisa Powers. No injuries were reported. She said the affected students have a place to stay this evening and the rest of the week, but that the university would work to provide accommodations for the remainder of the semester.
‘Student Affairs is currently working to make arrangements for any of these students who want a space on campus for the remainder of the semester,’ Powers said. ‘They need to call our Residence Life Office to exercise this housing option and hopefully we will be able to accommodate.’
Management of The Park has also offered to pay for the affected residents to stay at a nearby hotel.
Penn State’s classes end on April 29 and final exams conclude on May 6.
‘Student Affairs also makes efforts to reach out to the faculty of these students to confirm that they were fire victims so that hopefully faculty will provide them certain accommodations regarding their academic work,’ Powers said.
She added that students in need can request other assistance from the student affairs office and that counseling would be available to those who need it.
‘[T]his is a devastating event in their lives and these students should not hesitate to reach out to officials to seek assistance,’ she said
Firefighters continued to work on salvage of the building Wednesday night, doing so carefully because of the danger of collapse, Alpha reported.
The cause of the fire is being investigated.
Time lapse video courtesy of Ardavan Bidgoli:
