After firefighters responded to a small fire at the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity house Tuesday night, city inspectors found the fraternity guilty of several fire violations the following day and closed the house for the night. Fraternity members scrambled to get the necessary repairs done, and the house reopened yesterday.
The incident caused renewed concerns about safety in fraternity houses and the dangers members may face.
A fire started in a third-floor bedroom of the house around 11:30 p.m. because too many cords were plugged into an electrical panel, Charlottesville Fire Capt. Paul Stoneburner said.
"It was a very minor fire," Phi Psi President Rob Bradenham said. "The flames were maybe three or four inches high."
Inspectors still came to the house the next day and found a "number of electrical situations that created life safety hazards," said Ralph O. Allen, University director of environmental health and safety.
The inspector gave the fraternity four days to fix the violations, so Phi Psi hired an electric contractor who fixed the problems within an hour on Wednesday, Bradenham said.
Phi Psi members were prohibited from sleeping in the house on Wednesday night, but the city inspectors came back on Thursday and cleared the house for habitation.
"Our house is perfectly up to code," Bradenham said.
The inspectors also gave Phi Psi 30 days to make sure there are two outlets in every bedroom, but this is not a life-threatening concern, Allen said.
He said some of the potential fire hazards that were in need of repair included broken lights with wires hanging out, miswired electrical panels and extension cords that were being used incorrectly as permanent wiring.
Bradenham said he is not sure yet how much the necessary electrical work will cost.
Allen said the fraternity was extremely cooperative about repairing the violations.
"Maybe this will spur other fraternities and sororities to think about fixing potential fire hazards," Allen said.
Dean of Students Penny Rue said the University is in a position to help Greek houses because it can conduct inspections but does not cite violations.
"The University can give the houses a heads up," before the city gets involved, Rue said.
Inter-Fraternity Council President Justin Saunders said the IFC is considering making University fire inspections mandatory for all the recognized fraternities.
He said fraternity presidents talked about making fire inspections part of the fraternities' Fraternal Organization Agreement at last night's IFC meeting and may vote on making it a permanent requirement at next week's meeting.
The FOA is a document that establishes a formal relationship between a fraternity, the University and the IFC.
Bradenham said his house passed a fire inspection three months ago.
Read More
Advancement Committee reports Honor the Future campaign milestone
By Nicolas Biernacki | 7 hours agoThe Honor the Future campaign was launched in 2019 with the pillars of sustaining education, securing democracy and driving research, and will officially end June 30.
Health System Board discusses two recent $25 million donations
By Nina Broderick | 2 days agoThe Board also discussed the goals and vision of the Paul and Diane Manning Institute of Biotechnology and voted to approve the fiscal year 2026 operating budget.
Honor Committee discusses fall Support Officer recruitment
By Bertie Azqueta | 2 days agoThe Support Officer pool is chosen by existing Senior Support Officers and the Selection and Recruitment Committee members through an application and interview process.
