A melted toilet seat in Oglesby Hall. 

A smoldered cork board in Allen Hall. 

A burnt carpet in Wassaja Hall. 

These are just some of the consequences of the intentional fires set in the campus’s residence halls in the last three years.

The university’s annual fire safety report, published Oct. 1, 2024, provided fire statistics for the past three calendar years. According to the report, the 2021-2023 fire incident summaries include seven unintentional fires and seven intentional fires in the residence halls; of the seven unintentional fires, six were classified as cooking fires.

The University of Illinois, in compliance with the Higher Education Opportunity Act, developed the report, which summarizes the reporting components required by the act. Fire safety requirements for students include the prohibition of smoking, candles and fireworks in any residence hall, for example.

Last year, three unintentional cooking fires took place at the following residence halls: Orchard Downs, Sherman Hall and Townsend Hall (ISR).

“Cooking meals is only permitted in designated hall kitchenettes,” according to the report. “Hall kitchenettes are not intended for regular meal preparation because they cannot accommodate the number of residents in each hall.”

The report notes each of these unintentional kitchen fires did not cause any injuries or fatalities, and each resulted in less than $99 in property damage.

Yet kitchen fires remain a prevalent issue in the university community, particularly within Champaign’s Campustown. Of the 191 total fire events the Champaign Fire Department responded to this year as of Oct. 1, 36 — or 19% — were kitchen fires.

It is Campustown’s predominantly student population that serves as the primary explanation for the college town’s kitchen fires, Champaign Deputy Fire Marshal Jeremy Mitchell said in an interview.

“There are several factors that sort of drive, particularly, cooking fires on campus,” Mitchell said. “You have varying levels of people who know how to use kitchen appliances, know how to cook for themselves.”

It is for this reason Mitchell said he strives to create more engagement in the campus community — specifically pertaining to kitchen safety — in the form of fire safety education, regarding the endeavor as his “Moby Dick,” he said.

“My ideal scenario would be the instructional kitchen at the ARC,” Mitchell said. “Maybe not make it fire department exclusive, but if we can tag on to you and you’re going through a cooking lesson.”

According to the annual fire safety report, both Sherman Hall and ISR “are protected by an automatic, supervised wet pipe sprinkler system integrated with the building fire alarm system,” in addition to other safety measures. The report provides an overview of each residence halls’ fire safety systems, equipment like extinguishers and more.

It’s the responsibility of the property manager or landlord to make sure the unit’s stove works and is safe, as well as to install and maintain the unit’s smoke alarms, Mitchell said.

“We remind students that you do have a resource if something doesn’t feel safe, there are ways that the building owner can be legally compelled to make it safe for you,” Mitchell said.

In addition to the three unintentional cooking fires last year, one intentional carpet fire took place at Wassaja Hall. This fire did not cause any injuries or fatalities, but caused between $100 and $1,000 in property damages, report data showed.

Wassaja Hall “has all the fire protection and life safety features of the other four Ikenberry North residence halls including, a supervised fire alarm system integrated with a wet-pipe fire sprinkler system with standpipes as well as multi-purpose ABC dry chemical fire extinguishers,” the report said.

“Campus fire safety officials review fire safety policies and equipment on an ongoing basis,” the report said. “While there are no specific plans for future improvements, fire safety officials will continue to maintain, continually assess, and upgrade fire safety apparatus as needed.”

Read the university’s full report on its website or in full below: