Fire on Freshman Hill.

At approximately 5:30am on Wednesday, April 23rd, a fire was started on freshman hill. A resident of Hall Hall, known only as “Craig,” had the genius idea to set the earth week cardboard display ablaze. He first took the lid off the display, poured kerosene on the cardboard, and lit the then extremely flammable display. He quickly replaced the lid, which proved to be a horrible mistake. Seconds later, the lid was blown off, creating an explosion that woke many students in the surrounding dorms. The resulting fireball also gave the arsonist 3rd degree burns and sent him to Samaritan hospital. He was later air-lifted to Westchester Medical Center to be treated at their Trauma and Burn Center.

The students who were woken up by the blast quickly called public safety, fearful that the blaze could have spread to adjacent buildings. At the time they arrived the flames were approaching thirty feet, towering over Commons in the background. The student responsible for the fire was no where to be seen, as he had quickly fled the scene. However, a friend of his later escorted him to Samaritan Hospital, realizing the severity of his burns. After public safety was notified, the Troy fire department arrived to quickly put out what was left the of fire. The RPI grounds and maintenance crew arrived around 8:00am to clear the ashes and debris.

Motives for this horrible act are still unclear, but it is safe to stay that the student responsible will not be coming back to RPI next year.