A burning candle in a dorm room was the source of a fire in Royer Hall around 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 2.
No students were injured in the accident, and damage was contained to the room where it occurred, Director of Residence Life Tara Hoover said. Elizabethtown College Campus Safety, Elizabethtown Borough Fire and Police Departments as well as Middletown and Mount Joy fire departments responded.
“Facilities has already begun cleaning the room and will be working on restoring the room over the next several weeks,” Hoover said. “It is important for students to be aware of and adhere to policies outlined in the student handbook, especially those related to potential fire hazards.”
The fire was ruled accidental, and students were able to return to the building at 4:40 p.m.
Candles are prohibited in the student handbook, including wickless candle and incense “regardless of intended use,” according to Etown’s 2024-25 Student Handbook. Open flames of any kind are also banned.
This means candles are not permitted in dorm rooms even if students plan to use a candle warmer or similar device.
Senior public relations major Lily Johnson, a resident assistant (RA), said all three of the RAs in Royer were off campus at the time of the fire. She said even though rules in the handbook may seem redundant, they’re there to keep students safe.
Johnson said that her main concern is negativity towards the victim(s) of the fire.
“While candles are known to be prohibited, mistakes happen, and we are all human. All we should do is support people in our community after an accident like this,” Johnson said. “Ridiculing them or spreading rumors will not do any good, and I think people need to be reminded of that.”
After the fire, students took to the popular app Yik Yak, where students can post anonymously, to talk about the fire. Some posts were asking for the initials of the victim(s) of the fire and for pictures of the room, while others were posting misinformation about what is allowed in dorm rooms and what actually happened in the fire. One post called the fire the result of a “stupid, careless decision.”
Johnson said rhetoric like this can be extremely harmful to student(s) who have already suffered loss.
“As an RA the last two years, I have seen people do things that they regret, and I have empathy towards them,” Johnson said. “I can’t imagine what it would feel like to make such a damaging accident, and I have kept the victim(s) in my thoughts during this time. I’m sure they would appreciate support. We live and we learn.”
Junior occupational therapy major Lauryn Wargo was in Royer at the time of the fire, and said she, like many other students, thought it was a drill until fire trucks came. She said she is not concerned for her safety in the future.
“Right after the fire, I feel like the general attitude was that people were annoyed they had to be outside for so long or go somewhere for an hour or so while the smoke was cleared,” Wargo said. “But now, I feel like most people are not bothered by it anymore because it was handled well and should not happen again.”
Students and parents were notified about the fire in an email in the evening of Feb. 2. On Monday, Feb. 3, a reminder of residence hall policies was sent to students in the weekly campus news email.
Both Wargo and Johnson said they are not concerned about future incidents.
