Tuesday, September 18, 2001

Students displaced by fire in Stonegate Villas
By Erin LaMourie
Staff Reporter

A three-alarm fire at Stonegate Villas, 2501 Oak Hill Circle, Sunday caused an estimated $625,000 damage to Building 2 and displaced about 21 people, said Fort Worth Fire Department Lt. Kent Worley.

Fifteen apartments were damaged by the fire.

Fort Worth fire officials estimate close to $625,000 worth to the StoneGate Villas after a fire abrubted Sunday.

Many TCU students live in the apartment complex, said Melissa Fellows, a Stonegate Villas resident and senior graphic design major.

The manager of Stonegate Villas, Ginger Dass, declined to comment on the incident so it was unknown exactly how many TCU students were affected.

Worley said the fire department believes the fire started about 4:30 p.m. when a male disposed of a cigarette in a trash can on the balcony of his third-floor apartment.

Rob DeDreu, security officer for the apartment complex, pointed out the male suspect. He declined an interview. It is unknown at the time of press if charges were filed.

Fellows and Heather Simm, junior anthropology major, said they have lived on second floor of the building since June 2001.

Simm said she was in the apartment when the fire started.

“I was cooking dinner and watching TV and all of the sudden the cable went out,” Simm said. “Someone knocked on the door and asked for a fire extinguisher. Then he and I knocked on everyone’s doors and made sure everyone was all out.”

Fellows said they had do not have renter’s insurance.

“We think that our parents’ (home owner) insurance is going to cover it because we are both dependents,” Fellows said.

She said the insurance company asked her to make a list of all the items that were in the apartment. Fellows and Simm said were unable to retrieve their belongings from the building Monday.

They said the management told them they would need to wait to get in the building because the roof collapsed from the third floor and is now laying on the ceiling of their second-floor apartment.

They were told they will not be able to enter the building until the roof falls through to the first floor, which will cause their belongings to be crushed, Simm said.

She said most of her possessions can be replaced, though a few items with personal meaning cannot be replaced such as an autographed book by Jane Goodall.
Fellows and Simm said they were somewhat upset, but mostly just inconvenienced.

Erin LaMourie - Skiff Staff Fort Worth firefighters return to assess damages Monday to the Stonegate Villas after a three-alarm fire.

“It is just personal belongings and they can be replaced,” Fellows said. “No one was hurt and that is what matters.”

John Key, maintenance supervisor, said Stonegate is in the process of putting a fence around the building. For liability concerns, no one can enter in the building until the insurance company evaluates the damage, he said.

The top floor was completely destroyed, the second floor sustained heavy water damage and the first floor had mild water damage, Key said.

The fire department estimated the damage, but the complex has not made its own estimate.

Key said of the 15 apartments in the damaged building, only three were vacant.
“We are relocating residents in all vacant units (in other buildings) that we have,” he said.

Key said other residents are being relocated to local hotels.Erin LaMourie

e.m.lamourie@student.tcu.edu