Two fires occurred at student residences over the weekend, one at the Chi Phi fraternity house and the other at Jack Jouett Apartments.
The Charlottesville Fire Department and Police Department responded to a trash fire set outside of the Chi Phi house, located at 161 Rugby Road, Saturday at 6:23 p.m.
According to Chi Phi President Harrison Wheaton, a flaming stuffed animal was thrown into a pile of debris as a part of the fraternity's bid day activities.
"It's purely visual, to excite the new pledges," he said. "It is nothing to the scale of a brush fire."
The fraternity had a fire extinguisher ready and fraternity brothers extinguished the fire immediately, according to Wheaton.
While the identity of the person who reported the fire to police remains unknown, Wheaton said he believes the person saw the fire and the hedges that surround the Chi Phi house and thought the hedges were on fire. When the fire department arrived, the fire had been extinguished.
Wheaton said the fraternity has performed this ritual in previous years without problems.
Battalion Chief David Hartman of the Charlottesville Fire Department said objects burned included computers, tables and other plastic objects.
According to Aaron Laushway, associate dean of students and director of fraternity and sorority life, there were no injuries sustained from the fire. University Police Sgt. Melissa Fielding added that no damage was done to the house.
"It's a little concerning because sometimes we discard safety in celebration,"Fielding said. "It's just a dangerous thing to set things on fire."
According to Fielding, the case is still open and under investigation. Laushway was notified of the fire at Chi Phi and said he plans to follow up with the fraternity today.
In a separate incident, the Charlottesville Fire Department also responded to a fire at Jack Jouett Apartments, located at 68 University Way, Saturday at 6:20 p.m.. According to a Charlottesville Fire Department report, a stove caught on fire. The fire was confined to the kitchen and resulted in an estimated property loss of $1,000 and content loss of $100.
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