"Fire destroys San Jose State fraternity house"

[adventstoryAOII]

I'm delurking for a quick second to post about this (I'm hoping I'm posting in the right forum). I didn't see anything about it in my search, so I thought other people might be interested in seeing it.

http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-...nclick_check=1

San Jose State student Medi Gouta was one of 28 students who could only stand and watch helplessly Tuesday morning as firefighters doused their fraternity house with about 1 million gallons of water.
The students had all safely evacuated from the Kappa Sigma house, which was destroyed by a massive 4-alarm fire, and were hanging around to see what might have survived the blaze.
Gouta, a 21-year-old software engineering student, didn't have much hope any of his belongings or papers survived.
"I'm not sure how much I'm going to find there," Gouta said at about 6:45 a.m.
But after the fire was extinguished, firefighters went inside to see what they could pull out. Fire engineer Soren Coats emerged from the house at about 8 a.m. and walked over to Gouta.

He handed the international student his wallet and passport.
"I was very surprised," said Gouta, who told firefighters that the passport was his only form of ID. "I thought they would not even care, there were so many other things to care about. But they care about people. They looked for it and found it."
Everything else in his room -- the only one on the second floor that firefighters could search because the roof collapsed-- was destroyed. Firefighter also managed to pull out some memorabilia and other historical items from the ground level.
The students also began cheering when firefighters emerged with some of the old photos and memorabilia dating back to when the San Jose State chapter of Kappa Sigma was founded in 1965.
"That was cool," said fire Capt. Mary Gutierrez said. "They're happy with their photos, getting all of that."
But Gutierrez said the 25-bedroom house building at 168 S. 11th St. near San Antonio Street "is a complete loss" and suffered about $1.7 million in damage.
One of the students reported the fire from his cell phone sometime around 3:30 a.m. Gouta, the fraternity chapter president, said he was in a deep sleep when he was awakened by shouts in the hallway of his fraternity house.
"All I heard was people screaming 'get out of the house'," Gouta said. "I opened my door and was really confused."
Some students went into the laundry room and attempted to extinguish a fire. Others went to the roof and found flames that "were a lot more fire than they could deal with."
Once they were out of the house, "a huge fire just started," Gouta said. "You could feel the heat" standing across the street.
About 90 firefighters responded to the four-alarm blaze that swept through the 20,000-square-foot building, Gutierrez said. Firefighters needed about three hours to get the blaze under control. Because the blaze grew to a fourth alarm, fire officials requested mutual aid from other cities to backfill three of the city's stations.

One firefighter suffered minor burn injuries to his hands but was treated at a hospital and returned to the scene, Gutierrez said.
The students have already found places to stay through friends, family members and other fraternities, according Gouta. Other Greek houses brought food to the students this morning.
"We're having support from other houses," Gouta said. "Everyone has someplace to go."
San Jose State spokeswoman Pat Lopes Harris said the university would also offer the students housing, as well as emergency financial assistance for food and clothing. She said counseling also would be available to the students.
"We'll offer them anything they need," Lopes Harris said.

My heart breaks for these guys. Luckily everyone made it out alive, but it's so very sad. I know some of the guys there, and they're funny, kind, charming.

[christiangirl]

My mom told me about this yesterday. I'm glad no one was hurt but sad for all the possessions they lost.

[AGDee]

Thank goodness they were all ok. The passport story is really heartwarming too

[NinjaPoodle]

Luckily, they were able to go back in and retrieve possessions including composites. In the news footage, I saw them carrying out several composites. The local chapters of other orgs are housing and clothing the Kappa Sigmas as well as the school providing housing.

I remember hearing one of the brothers had a final yesterday morning. I hope he passed if his instructor didn't give him time off.

[NinjaPoodle]

Hey! If you're in the San Jose area, please come support!
Delta Zeta Benefit Dinner for Kappa Sigma
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=127935120621426

[christiangirl]

I made a donation. Poor guys, I hope they're holding up okay!

[NinjaPoodle]

SJSU Delta Zeta Blog:
http://deltazetasjsu.blogspot.com/20...community.html

THURSDAY, JUNE 23, 2011

Kappa Sigma Fire, the Fraternal Community Unites
It has been too long since we have updated our blog, but I guess now is as good of a time as ever.

This week our neighbors, the gentlemen of Kappa Sigma Fraternity, lost their home in an extremely severe house fire.

It is so sad to see members of our community lose their home, belongings and feeling of security. We are however, SO incredibly lucky to be members of the fraternal community at SJSU. It is fabulous to see fraternity and sorority chapters unite with local families, community members and the university to provide relief in this time of need for Kappa Sigma.

The members that were displaced by the fire have temporary housing on campus and in other fraternity houses. The community has come together to donate money and goods to replace the items lost in the fire. Old Navy even provided special discounts for the brothers and for community members to purchase items like socks, underwear and other basics for the men in addition to providing them with various free items.

Two donation sites have been set up to help the brothers of Kappa Sigma purchase necessary items like food, furniture, cell phones and lap tops. If you're interested in donating, here are the links: SJSU Office of Advancement Relief Fund and Kappa Sigma Relief Fund set up by their alumni.

Delta Zeta is helping out our neighbors in any way we can. Our chapter donated $500 to their relief fund and our alumnae have set up a Chevy's fundraiser to help add to their relief fun. Twenty five percent of all food purchases will be donated to Kappa Sigma. Here is a link with information for the event. *see facebook link*

Additionally our active and alumnae members have collected toiletries like towels, razors, deodorant and other goods for the brothers. One of our members mothers even donated pillows and pillow cases for all of the members displaced by the fire. In her words, "I am a mom and my heart breaks thinking that these boys are without a home while they are away at college. I figure they could use a mother's touch. The least I could do was provide them with comfortable pillows and pillow cases--even if some of them are pink!"

Our community is uniting as well to plan so very cool events with the goal of raising more funds for Kappa Sigma. Spearheaded by the Interfraternity Council, Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity and Delta Upsilon Fraternity, a carnival type event will hopefully be held sometime in August with all of the fraternity and sorority chapters participating by hosting a booth, game, inflatable, food item, or items for purchase.

Thank you everyone for your support of Kappa Sigma. Delta Zeta will continue to support the brothers of Kappa Sigma as they rebuild their home and their personal lives. Additionally, we would like to encourage our community members to look into purchasing renters insurance to protect their personal belongings in case of future disasters.