Dorm fire that injures 5 at Ohio university ruled arson
WILBERFORCE, Ohio—A dormitory fire Thursday that injured five Central State University students, including one who jumped from a third-story window, was deliberately set, authorities said.
The fire started about 6 a.m. Thursday in a storage room of three-story Hunter Hall, according to Xenia Fire Capt. Roy Colbrunn. He said officials went door-to-door to wake students and evacuate the building.
"There was never a situation where we were concerned that someone was not going to get out," said school spokeswoman Fran Robinson. "But people panicked because the building was on fire."
Investigators determined the fire was deliberately set after inspecting evidence and interviewing students, said Shane Cartmill, a spokesman for the Division of State Fire Marshal. He said the fire began on the second floor and spread to the third, but would not comment on a cause or other specifics of the investigation.
Kentrell Manuel, the student who jumped from the third-floor window, said the door to the stairway was hot and he didn't know how long it would take for rescuers to arrive.
"The smoke was just so thick and so intense that it was intimidating," Manuel told WDTN television of Dayton after he was taken to a hospital. "That was a last resort -- jump out of a window."
The dorm houses 180 students. But only 40 to 50 were in the building at the time because Thursday was the last day of exams and most students already had left, Robinson said.
The five students were taken to Greene Memorial Hospital, suffering from either smoke inhalation or injuries from fleeing the fire, said spokeswoman Michelle Perry. They were all treated and released.
Central State, with an enrollment of 1,900, is about 15 miles east of Dayton.
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