UIPD to investigate possible arson at Wardall Hall
September 21, 2015
Tweet: Two fires were reported at Wardall Hall since Sept. 14A Campus Safety Notice was issued Monday morning to alert the campus community of a fire at Wardall Hall, 1010 W. Illinois St.
According to the notice, papers attached to a cork board on the 8th floor of Wardall Hall were set on fire around 9:30 p.m. on Sunday. The fire was extinguished by the time the University Fire Department arrived.
A similar incident occurred on the same floor of Wardall Hall around 9:45 p.m. Sept. 14. A building resident extinguished a fire set to papers in a recycling bin. No one was injured in either incident.
Police Lieutenant John Brown said both fires, set on the same floor, caused only minor damage but cause concern for residents’ safety if the incident occurs a third time.
“In both cases they were discovered quickly and extinguished, but the obvious concern is if the fire doesn’t get extinguished right away, we could end up with a considerably more amount of damage and have students injured,” said Brown. “They occurred about the same time in the evening about a week apart; we do think they’re related.”
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The University Police Department is investigating both fires as arson.