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Fire destroys students' home

After losing belongings, five students receive support, compassion from community

Candice Ruud

Issue date: 5/27/08 Section: News
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After a fire destroyed the home of five OSU students on May 18, they have received help and support from the Lutheran Campus Ministry and Dean of Student Life Jackie Balzer.
Media Credit: Peter Strong
After a fire destroyed the home of five OSU students on May 18, they have received help and support from the Lutheran Campus Ministry and Dean of Student Life Jackie Balzer.
On Sunday, May 18, a house fire started on 1355 NE Timian St., destroying the home of five OSU students, four of whom are on the brink of graduation.

The cause of the fire is believed to be a spark from underneath the hood of one student's car, which was parked in the garage. After the fire started there, it reached the rooms of the house directly above the garage, which were quickly and completely incinerated.

Only one student, Jared Etzel, was inside the house at the time of the fire. He was able to escape and save his roommate's dog as he made his way out. However, there wasn't enough time to remove some of the valuable belongings from the house, and several of the housemates lost everything they owned, including school books, computers, TVs and caps and gowns for graduation.

According to the Corvallis Gazette-Times story that ran on Tuesday, May 20, only one room was left intact after the blaze.

David Lee, a senior in economics and one of the residents of the house, recalls being at the library with most of his school books and notes at the time of the fire.

"Jared called me and told me the house was burning," Lee said. "Initially I didn't believe him. It took a while for him to convince me that it was actually on fire."

Lee noted that the Lutheran Campus Ministry at OSU - nicknamed the Luther House - and Dean of Student Life Jackie Balzer have been extremely helpful during this time.

Lee is staying with friends who live in the area, while Balzer was able to provide the other residents with dorm rooms and MU meal cards for the rest of the year. She also supplied new caps and gowns for the seniors and is helping them get their lives back on track in time for graduation.

While Lee said that friends, family and community members readily came forth offering material goods to replace the ones he and his roommates lost in the fire, he feels that the most important support he has received is the intangible, emotional kind.
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