In a flash

Editor's note: the following is a personal account of senior class president and political science major Mary Holland and her description of the April 5 Barker Common fire that displaced 20 SUNY Fredonia students.

Mary Holland is relaxing just like every other SUNY Fredonia student on April 5. It's Travel Day and this senior class president and political science major is preparing to head back to school. The sunny, cloudless afternoon makes for a perfect day to unwind. That all changed in a matter of seconds.

Mary is in the living room when she hears a frantic call from her roommate. She runs into their bedroom and sees a small fire on her bed that was inadvertently set by a candle. Mary and her roommate attempt to extinguish the flames by grabbing anything they can to hold water. "I remember it just happening so fast. We grabbed pots and pans and tried to put it out," Mary says.

Believing they have extinguished the fire, the other end of the bed suddenly flashes and goes up in flames. Mary recalls seeing the entire room filled with fire and smoke in about 15 seconds. She calls 911 as her roommate frantically looks for a fire extinguisher. "We thought we could put it out," she remembers.

Her roommate runs in to the hallway and pulls the fire alarm. Tenants inside the building are unaware of the devastating fire that is spreading around them. Her roommate is able to locate a fire extinguisher in the hallway and runs back into the room. But by the time she gets to the bedroom, the fire is out of control. The entire apartment fills up with smoke while Mary and her roommates head for the exit.

Outside, smoke billows from the bedroom window. The smell of burning ash accompanies the smoke as passers-by see the smoke and begin calling 911. Smoke now begins to pour out of the window as the bedroom is fully engulfed.

As she is leaving, Mary quickly looks around the apartment one last time to see if there is anything to salvage. "I found my cell phone and I thought, ‘I need this,'" she recalls. She runs out of the apartment barefoot, forgetting to put on a pair of shoes.

People in the halls begin yelling to one another asking if there really is a fire. All Mary can think as she makes her way down the stairs is that everyone needs to get out.

Outside, sirens begin to wail. The Fredonia Fire Department, located just up the road from the Barker Commons building on Main Street, is dispatched at 8:29 p.m. and responds within minutes. A police officer is first on the scene and a fire truck soon follows. Six fire companies respond to East Main Street to aid in extinguishing the blaze that takes two and a half hours to put out.

Mary stands outside the building as dozens of firemen and fire trucks surround the smoking building. Within minutes water is doused on the building as black smoke turns white. Firemen spray water on M&T Bank next door to prevent the fire from spreading.

Across the street, hundreds of onlookers appear in the balmy night. Lights from the street lamps cast an orange glow over the crowd. Many arrive after the smell of smoke fills the SUNY Fredonia campus. Police officers quickly set up a barrier to protect citizens.
After the fire is out, Mary is asked by Fredonia officials if she would like to live on campus.

She declines. "I couldn't live on campus where I would have nothing to put in the room." She finds refuge inside a friend's house and takes the week off from school. Mary's teachers allow her to make up any homework as she adjusts to losing all her possessions.

Support from the campus and community is almost instantaneous as people begin donating money and supplies. "All these people who I never met began giving me all these things. It finally hit me that I needed help," Mary recalls.

The local Red Cross is called and immediately supplies students displaced by the fire with "care kits." The Fredonia College Foundation sets up a collection fund for students to help replace items lost in the fire. Contributions pour in from community members caught up in the devastation who wish to help in any way possible.

Mary receives $400 from teachers at her former high school in Cazenovia, NY. "It amazes me just how much people were giving. It is such a warm feeling knowing people are willing to help."

Mary eventually returns to school a week after the fire and openly is welcomed back to class. As class president, Mary must fulfill her responsibilities while trying to cope with the loss of her possessions.

Around campus, Mary hears rumors surrounding the fire. "I heard people say they thought we were drunk or that there was a meth lab up there. Just ridiculous stuff like that," she said.

Mary struggled to get back into the routine of things. "I got into my car and drove to Barker Commons. I parked and then I realized I didn't live there anymore. That's how unreal it is for me still."

Mary plans to stay at her friend's house until she graduates in a month. The apartment building is boarded up while black soot marks spew out of the windows. Mary has been back a few times to walk through the building to see if anything is salvageable. She lost everything but her cell phone, car and the clothes on her back. She still gets upset when she recalls the fire but believes things will eventually return to normal.

"I definitely feel that I am going to come out of this a better person. That's just the whole outlook I'm trying to have."