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MVP [510]
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The Great Johnstone Fire
Aug 11, 2012, 8:46 AM
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I was an eye witness to the fire, because I was the one who found it. I think it was the spring of 1976 or 1977. I was lying on my bunk in my on E-5 hall studying. I smelled smoke and noticed it blow by my window. I figured my net door neighbors were playing a prank on me by burning something on the ledge outside my window. You must understand that we never worried about fire, because Johnstone was concrete floors, aluminum walls and asbestos covered ceilings.
I went to the window and looking to my left, I saw the curtains of the next room burning at the window! I ran next door and opened it to find the far right corner of the room engulfed in flames. I grabbed a trash can and ran to the bathroom to fill it up in an attempt to put out the fire. I ran back and opened the dorm room door. When I did I saw the entire room in flames and a blast of hot air blew me back. Fortunately, I kept my hand on the door knob, and slammed the door.
I then ran the the hall monitor's room and alerted him and we went up and down the hall knocking on doors and getting folks out. I ran back to my room to grab my books and stereo. As I was trying to carry all of my stuff out the monitor grabbed me and made me leave my stereo and evacuate.
We ran out into the quad below E-5 and watched the room burn while we waited for the fire Dept to arrive. When they did it was hilarious! The truck's ladder would not reach the room. They finally got hoses going and poured water into the room.
After the fire was out, I was allowed to go to my room next door to see what I could recover. My room was hardly damaged! Every thing on the adjoining wall was charred by the intense heat radiating from the fire. My posters and pin- up girls were charred around the edges, but I had no water damage and very little smoke damage. The rooms above the fire had heavy smoke damage and the room below was flooded.
I had to give a deposition on the what I saw when I first opened the door. The fire was ultimately blamed on a faulty refrigerator that caught the curtains and other furnishing on fire. It was later that semester before I learned the rest of the story...
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MVP [510]
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I forgot to mention simultaneous combustion
Aug 11, 2012, 8:57 AM
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The fire Marshall at my deposition told me that the temperature of the room almost reached the point where aluminum begins simultaneous combustion. If that had happened, the entire Johnstone dorm could have burned down.
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All-In [40974]
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what is simultaneous combustion? Aluminum is non combustible
Aug 11, 2012, 11:10 PM
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unless it is in powder form or strong oxidizers are present, which they weren't.
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All-In [25451]
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We had somewhat of a fire on one of the floors, while
Aug 11, 2012, 8:58 AM
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I was there in the 60's, which largely was a large trash barrel that was aflame. When "The Tiger" newspaper asked the Fire Chief whether or not it was the work of an arsonist, the chief responded: "No, someone started that fire deliberately!" It was a running joke then on.
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Walk-On [104]
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Re: We had somewhat of a fire on one of the floors, while
Aug 11, 2012, 9:21 AM
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The fire department and Deputy Dogs were a joke when I was there in the 60s. One time I called up the police department, told them I was the Dean and to make those guys get quite( a group of guys were just singing out in front of the department and behind Johnstone). Well, you should have seen them pour out of the office and jump into their cars. One went one way and the other went the opposite. No one went to where the singers were.
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All-In [25451]
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Preach, my memory fails me at times, but during our days
Aug 11, 2012, 11:19 AM
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there most students occupied themselves with activities on campus, as there just wasn't much to do off campus. I don't recall many problems with the campus cops other than the occasional noisy drunk and the mass student "raids" downtown with the rolling of lit trash barrels down the streets and the such. Even then the cops didn't mess with the students that much. I suppose our isolation lent to a more family-oriented atmosphere, which still exists to this day.
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CU Medallion [52488]
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I can't wait until you get time to publish the
Aug 11, 2012, 9:03 AM
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rest of the story. Maybe work it into a trilogy to keep us in suspense and get yourself a bigger slice of the box office receipts.
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MVP [510]
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After thinking about it I think i will stop here
Aug 11, 2012, 3:48 PM
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In order to protect the guilty...
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CU Medallion [60282]
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the closets were made of plywood
Aug 11, 2012, 9:04 AM
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that was about the only flammable component of Johnstone.
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Rock Defender [54]
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At the least 2 rooms are burned.....
Aug 11, 2012, 10:02 AM
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you could also cross through them into the "adjoining" room.
Damno from D4 would set fire to the trashcans on the corner of C4 Pershing Rifles. When they came out to extinguish the fire he would shoot bottle rockets down the long hall at them. He was preparing them for battle. Damno didn't last long at CU.
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All-In [49613]
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I had always heard it was a still that took fire....
Aug 11, 2012, 10:17 AM
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...drat! So much for that legend.
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Athletic Dir [864]
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Some funny stories...lol***
Aug 11, 2012, 10:29 AM
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All-Conference [415]
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We had an arsonist
Aug 11, 2012, 11:35 AM
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my freshman year, 1996, in Johnston F. He started by putting papa john's boxes in the ovens and turning them on then leaving.
Then graduated to pouring lighter fluid in the big drum trashcans that were at the end of the halls. Had one burning outside my front door one night since my room was right next to the stairwell on F3.
a month or two later he threw one of those burning trash cans into somebody's room while two guys were sleeping. Police started getting serous and finally caught the guy can't remember how though.
Man we must have had the fire alarm go off 50 times that year......sucked so bad.
Same year, same hall that had the kids suspected in the Natalie Holloway murder...those two guys were my neighbors.
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CU Medallion [68530]
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Re: We had an arsonist- 2 guys in the holloway crime
Aug 11, 2012, 11:56 AM
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were at CU? Never heard that one. sounds fishy
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All-Conference [415]
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yes, the two main suspects lived next door to me.
Aug 11, 2012, 12:33 PM
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Holloway was hanging out in their room before they all left to go out that night. They were the last people to bee seen with her.
SLED and the police interviewed me, and a bunch of other guys on the hall, a few times...even once 2 year after the crime.
they never were able to find enough evidence to charge them though.
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Savant [470]
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I think you mean Brooke Holsonback?
Aug 11, 2012, 7:08 PM
[ in reply to We had an arsonist ] |
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Holloway was the van der Sloot victim down in Aruba.
Not being pedantic here - just thought it was worth correcting, as it remains unsolved.
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All-Conference [415]
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yep, i'm embarrested I got them confused.......***
Aug 12, 2012, 12:29 AM
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Legend [17454]
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Amazing friends ... and the house fire on Freedom Dr.
Aug 11, 2012, 12:48 PM
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about a year later.
Common denominator in both ...
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Orange Blooded [2348]
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University Ridge was the worst fire in Clemson
Aug 11, 2012, 12:53 PM
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I'll never forget that. A couple of my friends lost everything they owned, but the way the community came together to help those tenants afterward was amazing.
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All-In [32747]
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1 week or so later a fire burned up an apartment, down
Aug 11, 2012, 10:25 PM
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Sloan Street . . . anybody remember that one ?
Involved wrestlers, I think.
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110%er [5458]
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That was a crazy night. I have video of the fire when the
Aug 12, 2012, 9:19 PM
[ in reply to University Ridge was the worst fire in Clemson ] |
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building was fully engulfed and crumbling. As I recall, nobody got hurt...which is a miracle.
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Orange Blooded [2348]
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It pretty much was a miracle.***
Aug 12, 2012, 10:11 PM
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CU Guru [1800]
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Why didn't you text 9-1-1!?!? :)***
Aug 11, 2012, 10:18 PM
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Replies: 22
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