Fire forces York-wide evacuation

Jacqueline Perlin
Recruitment Manager
York University students’ exams have once again been interrupted, but this time bomb threats and false fire alarms are not to blame: a diesel-oil fire that broke out in the Central Utilities Building around 1 p.m. Dec. 13 shut down the Keele campus’ entire heating system, forcing an evacuation and leaving over 3,000 students, residents, staff and faculty out in the cold.
The university fully reopened Dec. 15.
“[The cause of the fire] will take some time for the fire marshal’s office to do,” said Alex Bilyk, York’s director of media relations. He added the accidental fire most likely resulted from some work being done in the building.

The fire killed the university’s steam boilers, which heat all of the Keele campus buildings. According to Bilyk, administration decided to evacuate student residents and faculty as soon as they realized Toronto’s bout of severe cold weather would make it impossible for them to keep up the heat.
Approximately 3,000 resident students were moved to hotels off campus or urged to stay with friends and family if possible. Bilyk said moving students was strictly a safety matter, as the university is expected to maintain a certain temperature.
The students were transported in special TTC buses to several hotels around Toronto, including the Days Inn and Holiday Inn Express. Most students were booked two to a room, though Bilyk guaranteed every student at the hotels had their own bed.
“It was a pain up the ass,” said one Vanier resident transported off campus, noting the process took about nine hours. Students were directed to several residences and made to wait before they were able to board the buses to the hotel, she explained.
The evacuation also meant 142 exams had to be postponed. While all exams have been rescheduled to fit within the exam period – times have already been posted on the York website – students still said they felt frustrated about the delay.
“I would rather have done the exam yesterday because I was ready for it,” said Jeremiah Thomas, a second-year philosophy student whose exam was rescheduled from Tuesday, Dec. 14 to Friday, Dec. 17. “That said, it does create a bit of a problem, because I might not remember everything I had studied for.”
Some students, however, didn’t mind the exam delay.
“Having the exam postponed is kind of a mixed blessing,” said Peter Altbaum, a first-year physics major. “It gives you a bit more time to get ready for it, but at the same time some just want to get it over with. So good and bad comes with it.”
Bilyk said the cost of the evacuation has yet to be determined, but that most of the expenses will likely be covered by York University’s insurance.