Purchase College: Dorm fire wasn't suspicious
The approximately two dozen students displaced have been temporarily relocated.
PURCHASE - Purchase College officials said a four-alarm fire that burned through a dorm Sunday night and displaced two dozen students does not appear suspicious.
“We’ll have the full report in a couple of weeks…until then there is no reason to think it’s suspicious,” Betsy Aldredge, a spokeswoman for the college said.
Approximately two dozen students were displaced as a result of the fire at a building on the campus’ “K-Street.” Firefighters from at least eight departments knocked down the fire after more than an hour. No one was injured.
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The displaced students have been temporarily relocated and the SUNY college is looking for permanent quarters for those affected, Aldredge said.
Administrators are planning to hold an information session for the displaced students and their parents that will be closed to the public. A clothing and food drive for the displaced students is also being organized, she said.
Purchase firefighter Sam Bornstein on the scene Sunday night told a Journal News/lohud.com reporter that when firefighters arrived heavy flames were already visible from outside. Using three water lines, firefighters fought back the flames in the apartment where it originated and the apartment above it, according to the firefighter.
The extent of the damage to the building was still being assessed.
“We’re just grateful there are no injuries and everyone is accounted for,” Aldridge said. “That’s the most important thing.”
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