Possible Arson Destroys Lounge

Arson is being investigated as the cause of the fire that broke the early morning quiet for residents in Granville Towers on Friday.

The fire occurred in West Granville Towers in the sixth-floor study lounge a little after 4 a.m. Fire officials said the fire had burned itself out by the time they arrived.

Granville does not have sprinkler systems in the study lounge areas, but the fire was announced as an emergency over the intercom.

The fire investigation was passed to the Chapel Hill Police Department for further query. Police officials said that the fire is being investigated as an arson and that there are suspects.

"It's an arson investigation the Fire Department requested us to assist," said Sgt. J.B. Layton. "The police department is investigating it as an arson."

Fire officials said the fire had two places of origin -- a couch and a chair cushion. The material of the furniture prevented further spread, as did the lounge doors, because they were closed.

Fire officials said the fire caused about $15,000 in damage to the study lounge and corridor.

But Dennis Erny, general manager for Granville Towers, estimated $5,000 in damage. He said all of the furniture and fixtures in the study lounge were destroyed.

He said hard numbers for the damage will be available midweek.

An automatic fire alarm alerted the Chapel Hill Fire Department to the fire in West Granville Towers' sixth-floor study lounge at 4:16 a.m Friday.

Residents said they could see smoke in the hallway as they peeked out of their doors to see what was going on. "There was smoke everywhere. It was scary," said sophomore Carmon Clapp.

"Everyone starting getting like, 'Oh my God, what is going on?'"

Clapp, who lives on the sixth floor in West Granville, said there was no real rush from most people because they thought it was just a normal fire alarm, not a real fire.

"People didn't really know what was going on until the firefighters started busting out the windows to let the smoke out," Clapp said.

She estimated it took residents five minutes to evacuate the building. Officials reported that students still were exiting the building when they arrived.

It is a continuing concern on the part of fire officials that students do not take fire alarms seriously enough and that injuries could occur.

Many students did not return to their rooms until 6:15 a.m., Clapp said.

The only area that was closed off because of the fire was the study lounge, Erny said.

The City Editor can be reached at citydesk@unc.edu.