Monday started as a good day for Jen Taylor.
The theater graduate student finished up some work, sent her roommates off to dress rehearsal for the MSU Theatre Department production of “Hamlet” and fed her professor’s cat.
But when she returned from helping out her professor, the smoke billowing out of her house on Sunrise Court changed the tone of the day.
“I heard a beeping noise and then I saw the smoke,” she said. “It’s just a very old house. It barely passed inspection.”
The East Lansing Fire Department received the fire call about 6:30 p.m. Monday. Fire officials worked on the fire for more than three hours. No damage estimates were available.
The four female theater students who live in the house said they believe their parents’ and landlord’s insurance will cover the damage. Taylor shared a bedroom upstairs, but stored most of her belongings in the basement, where the fire is believed to have originated.
Taylor is three weeks away from taking her competency exams to receive a master’s degree. Her notes, files and books were all destroyed. Fire officials told residents “very, very little” could be saved, including clothes, family photos and favorite stuffed animals.
“I’m supposed to be all done and walk in December,” she said. “I don’t know if I’ll graduate now. I can try to postpone it or something.”
A group of more than 100 neighbors and friends gathered around the smoky street, watching while fire department officials worked to quell the flames. The neighbors brought hot chocolate, blankets and cellular phones.
“I don’t want to call my parents until this is over,” Taylor said. “Our neighbors are very nice, though.
“I always wanted to clean some things out of my closet. Now I don’t have so many things to move back to Kansas.”
Psychology senior Megan Schoene, who lives next to the burned house, said the event flooded her mind with fears about her own house. After fire crews told her to leave her house, she ran back in to turn off the stove, worried she might start another fire.
“It’s kind of crazy,” she said. “We had problems with our electric wiring a while ago. They say it’s all better now. I need to get renter’s insurance. They’re handling it really well.
“I’d be flipping out.”
Journalism senior Kelly Carmode watched from the corner of Division Street and Sunrise Court as smoke rolled through the neighborhood and more people gathered.
Although the cause of the fire wasn’t known, Carmode said the fire is a reminder to students to turn off stoves and curling irons.
“It’s scary because, who doesn’t leave candles burning?” she said. “Students (don’t) make escape routes.”
Jamie Gumbrecht can be reached at gumbrec1@msu.edu.
Mary Sell can be reached at sellmary@msu.edu.
