Dylon Harrison
Staff Writer
70 ISU students have been displaced following a kitchen fire that started on the fourth floor of Schubert Heights that quickly got out of hand, causing severe damage to the apartment complex.
Many of these students lost personal belongings and in a few cases, everything they owned.
Three rooms were completely destroyed, but the majority of rooms took at least some damage from flames, smoke or water. ISU will not be helping to replace any damaged belongings, meaning any resident who did not have renter’s insurance will not be reimbursed for damages the fire caused.
“The extent of the damage was not clear until you reached the third floor of the building,” said Tanner Blotter, a Schubert resident. “I thought everything I owned had been consumed in the blaze.”
All 70 Schubert residents have been relocated to new housing across campus. Most were placed in vacant dorms and some were put in other on-campus apartments. They were also refunded the difference in this month’s rent between Schubert and wherever they were relocated to. ISU Housing has also provided those placed in dorms with a discounted meal plan.
The Red Cross also provided each of the affected students with a $125 debit card and is helping to replace any medicine and medical equipment lost in the fire. ISU is helping to provide counseling to any Schubert residents who find themselves in need of it.
“[The Red Cross] has been pretty amazing,” said Nicholas Taylor, a Schubert resident. “At the beginning of everything, they gave us emergency packs which came with a blanket and necessities.”
After learning that it was a kitchen fire, Taylor ran back upstairs to attempt to put the fire out with one of the fire extinguishers located in every Schubert kitchen. He was forced to turn back when the flames consumed the fourth-floor hallway.
“I was asleep when it happened,” Taylor said. “I thought it was just a drill. I started walking towards the front staircase and I noticed that there were flames in front of one of the doors.”
The Pocatello Fire Department extinguished the fire within an hour of it starting, but residents were not allowed back into the building until the following morning. Many of them were also not contacted about the damage done to their individual rooms.
When first let back into the building, residents were told to only grab the essentials until a time had been determined for them to retrieve the remainder of their belongings. Later that same day, they were let back in and informed that all of their belongings needed to be removed by 5:00 p.m. the following Tuesday.
All residents and their pets escaped the building safely, and no injuries were reported. Schubert is currently scheduled to be renovated as soon as possible.
A fundraiser has been started on “Go-Fund-Me” to help Schubert residents replace any personal belongings lost in the fire.
