2008 Woodie Awards
Fire in Cougar Village causes power outage
Kenneth Long
Issue date: 7/16/08 Section: News
A malfunctioning cable unit started a fire on the 400 side of Cougar Village and a power outage for the on-campus apartments Friday afternoon, sending the residents to other campus housing for the night.
Spokesman for Ameren Illinois Utilities Leigh Morris said at approximately 1:10 p.m. switchgear burned out, starting a fire in one of Ameren's pieces of electrical equipment and causing the power outage.
Ameren workers, SIUE Police and engineers and the Edwardsville Fire Department responded to the fire. Firefighters extinguished the blaze shortly after 2 p.m.
SIUE Police Lt. Kevin Schmoll said there were no injuries or accidents because of the power outage.
Morris said the cable unit was underground, making it hard to repair.
"The repairs are major in nature,"Morris said Friday. "There is too much work to have power restored by (Friday night)."
Schultz said there were at least 10 to 15 people working on restoring power to Cougar Village all Friday night and Saturday.
Power was restored to Cougar Village at 3 p.m. Saturday.
The outage prompted SIUE Housing to encourage students to relocate to available rooms in Evergreen and Woodland residence halls. Residents of Cougar Village were notified of the emergency rooms via fliers and e-mails.
Director of Housing Mike Schultz said students began moving from Cougar Village at about 6:45 p.m.
"The relocation was not normal procedure," Schultz said. "With the heatand the spare rooms we had available, we felt we could go above and beyond."
Sophomore elementary education major Zara Graham of Chester said she relocated from Cougar Village to Woodland Hall because of the power outage.
"I had just gotten back from a retreat," Graham said. "It was inconvenient for me, plus my food went bad."
Schmoll said a police roadblock was placed at the entrance road to Cougar Village because of the lack of light.
"Residents and workers could come and go," Schmoll said. "We didn't want anyone going back there that didn't belong."
Graham said while the blockade was a good idea, it inconvenienced her friends that were staying with her.
"They had to wait in the parking lot while I tried to get my stuff," Graham said.
Schmoll said there were no major problems as a result of the power outage.
"Everything was relatively quiet," Schmoll said. "It's normal procedure to step up patrols in areas without power, but Cougar Village was unique because there is only one way in and one way out."
Schultz said he was pleased with the way the situation was handled.
"Housing staff, police and Ameren employees did an excellent job," Schultz said. "They put in extra hours to turn a negative situation around."
Spokesman for Ameren Illinois Utilities Leigh Morris said at approximately 1:10 p.m. switchgear burned out, starting a fire in one of Ameren's pieces of electrical equipment and causing the power outage.
Ameren workers, SIUE Police and engineers and the Edwardsville Fire Department responded to the fire. Firefighters extinguished the blaze shortly after 2 p.m.
SIUE Police Lt. Kevin Schmoll said there were no injuries or accidents because of the power outage.
Morris said the cable unit was underground, making it hard to repair.
"The repairs are major in nature,"Morris said Friday. "There is too much work to have power restored by (Friday night)."
Schultz said there were at least 10 to 15 people working on restoring power to Cougar Village all Friday night and Saturday.
Power was restored to Cougar Village at 3 p.m. Saturday.
The outage prompted SIUE Housing to encourage students to relocate to available rooms in Evergreen and Woodland residence halls. Residents of Cougar Village were notified of the emergency rooms via fliers and e-mails.
Director of Housing Mike Schultz said students began moving from Cougar Village at about 6:45 p.m.
"The relocation was not normal procedure," Schultz said. "With the heatand the spare rooms we had available, we felt we could go above and beyond."
Sophomore elementary education major Zara Graham of Chester said she relocated from Cougar Village to Woodland Hall because of the power outage.
"I had just gotten back from a retreat," Graham said. "It was inconvenient for me, plus my food went bad."
Schmoll said a police roadblock was placed at the entrance road to Cougar Village because of the lack of light.
"Residents and workers could come and go," Schmoll said. "We didn't want anyone going back there that didn't belong."
Graham said while the blockade was a good idea, it inconvenienced her friends that were staying with her.
"They had to wait in the parking lot while I tried to get my stuff," Graham said.
Schmoll said there were no major problems as a result of the power outage.
"Everything was relatively quiet," Schmoll said. "It's normal procedure to step up patrols in areas without power, but Cougar Village was unique because there is only one way in and one way out."
Schultz said he was pleased with the way the situation was handled.
"Housing staff, police and Ameren employees did an excellent job," Schultz said. "They put in extra hours to turn a negative situation around."
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