City officials declared a residential co-op on West Lakelawn Place uninhabitable for the time being after the building caught fire early Wednesday morning and displaced 34 residents, including several University of Wisconsin students.
“I was working on my computer at about 1 o’clock in the morning when I saw [one of the neighbors], and he says the house is on fire and hit the fire alarm,” Carl Gibson, a resident of Lothlórien Cooperative House at 244 W. Lakelawn Place, said. “I slammed my laptop, grabbed my keys and my wallet and I got the hell out of there.”
Madison Fire Department responded to a 911 call at 1:13 a.m., according to a statement. The first responders arrived on the scene five minutes later and, upon seeing the heavy amount of fire and smoke coming through the roof of the four-story building, requested more responders to the scene, the statement said. MFD estimated the building sustained around $125,000 in damage.
The fire began on the roof deck of the third floor, a Madison Community Cooperative statement said.
The city’s Building Inspection Department declared the building temporarily uninhabitable, the MCC statement said.
MFD spokesperson Eric Dahl said the cause of the fire has yet to be determined and is still under investigation.
University of Wisconsin Dean of Students Lori Berquam was also on the scene last night to see what was happening with the residents and students displaced by the fire.
Berquam received a call Wednesday morning around 3 a.m. from the fire department and arrived at the scene soon after to meet with fire department officials and check on the students who were displaced by the fire, she said.
The students were in good spirits and were coming together to support one another, Berquam said. Members of other co-ops approached the students and offered them assistance in their time of need, she said.
“Other co-ops were coming up and offering a spot on the sofa for these residents, and I think that that is so indicative of who we are as Badgers and I was so pleased by that,” Berquam said.
Gibson said he appreciated how open people were with their hospitality, particularly since his room sustained the most damage and he lost the majority of his belongings.
Berquam added she was grateful the local Red Cross was stepping up to help out these students and residents in their time of need.
The Red Cross worked with four residents to find them immediate lodging for the night at a local hotel that partners with the organization, Katie Gaynor, Red Cross disaster services regional coordinator, said.
“We don’t know exactly how long the building is going to be closed down … but we will be willing to give these people our assistance, or connect them with another agency that may give them assistance,” Gaynor said.
Update:
Photographed below is the bedroom of Carl Gibson, which sustained some of the worst of the damage.
