<p>My son just texted and picture messaged me about a fatal house fire in a nearby off campus house. Terrible news and he's a little shaken by it. One student death confirmed.</p>
<p>Oh no … sounds truly horrible.</p>
<p>That is so very sad. My son, while in college, lost a friend who died in an off campus house fire. It is so tragic. If it can be said that sometimes good can come from tragedy, it does make kids more “aware” of what fire is can can do. Whether the fire is caused by grills, smoking, cooking or electrical it is something that is not often discussed in families and the kids don’t necessarily have heightened awareness of what can happen.</p>
<p>I am so sorry for the family of the boy who died.</p>
<p>Two years ago, my son’s fraternity house sustained a major fire when embers in the chimney caught fire. Luckily, several boys who were up saw the smoke and pulled the fire alarm. No one was injured – only material things were ruined – and the house was uninhabitable for months. It was a frightening experience for everyone.</p>
<p>I received another text from my Marist son just a couple of minutes ago. He said he knew the identified victim of the fire-- she lived on his floor during freshman year. He also said that there is a possibility of 3 or 4 deaths total and are actively investigating. According to son, the fire was huge.</p>
<p>I asked him why they think there’s a possibility of more deaths. He said that there are rumors of the possibility of more casualties. Let’s hope it’s nothing more than rumors.</p>
<p>What a tragedy. That was one of my biggest fears when son was living in an off campus house at his university. My heart goes out to all that are affected by this. I hope your son is ok too, nysmile. I can imagine the impact it will have on him as well.</p>
<p>He just texted. He said a breaking news banner states: 3 dead.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/article/20120121/NEWS01/120121003/POLICE-3-dead-Fairview-house-fire-2-Marist-students?odyssey=mod|breaking|text|PoughkeepsieJournal.com[/url]”>http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/article/20120121/NEWS01/120121003/POLICE-3-dead-Fairview-house-fire-2-Marist-students?odyssey=mod|breaking|text|PoughkeepsieJournal.com</a>
^Here’s the updated news article. 3 Dead—2 Marist students (female) and one male (not a Marist student).</p>
<p>The news is saying 2 females, 1 male dead - 1 am beside myself. My son is a freshman on campus, but knows people living off campus. I also know someone who’s son, a senior, lives off campus.</p>
<p>Oh how awful. I know several people with kids at Marist in all classes. </p>
<p>My house when I was in college burned down. My boyfriend and I were away skiing for the weekend when it happened. Our idiot roommate put a box of hot embers on the front porch and went into town. We lived in the mountains outside of Boulder and the house burned for quite a while before anyone noticed and by the time the volunteer fire dept arrived it was a total loss.</p>
<p>Have local authorities or the school released the names of the students?</p>
<p>He knows the names of the two girls, but not of the young man. I don’t think the authorities have officially released the names to the public yet.</p>
<p>I posted this also in the Marist forum. Wanted to pass this along to all the other parents. So heartbreaking.</p>
<p>2 Marist students, friend killed in off-campus fire | The Journal News | LoHud.com | LoHud.com</p>
<p>Oh how awful. Last year the parking lots flooded and now this. So sorry for the families and the Marist community. According to the article, a third person, not a marist student, was also killed in the fire.</p>
<p>The paper says the boy was not a Marist student. Just the girls.</p>
<p>So tragic…I’m sure more details will emerge, but I wonder if all the smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors were fully operational. My heart goes out to the families.</p>
<p>Sometimes kids can sleep through the alarms - we have threads on finding alarm clocks that are loud enough to wake college kids up in the morning.</p>
<p>According to the Poughkeepsie press conference, the smoke alarms were functional and sounding when the fire dept. showed up. The fire dept. showed up within 4 minutes of getting the call of fire in progress.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/article/20120122/NEWS01/301220031/INVESTIGATION-CONTINUES-INTO-FIRE-CLAIMED-2-MARIST-STUDENTS-FRIEND[/url]”>http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/article/20120122/NEWS01/301220031/INVESTIGATION-CONTINUES-INTO-FIRE-CLAIMED-2-MARIST-STUDENTS-FRIEND</a>
^link to updated info and video of press conference</p>
<p>Various news accounts have identified the victims.</p>
<p>The male is Kevin Johnson of New Canaan, CT
[New</a> Canaan man killed in Marist fire - Connecticut Post](<a href=“http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/New-Canaan-man-killed-in-Marist-fire-2673852.php]New”>http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/New-Canaan-man-killed-in-Marist-fire-2673852.php)</p>
<p>The females are Kerry Fitzsimons of Commack, Long Island and Eva Block of Woodbridge, CT</p>
<p>[FAIRVIEW</a> FIRE: VICTIMS’ IDENTITIES COME TO LIGHT; SEE NEW VIDEO | The Poughkeepsie Journal | poughkeepsiejournal.com](<a href=“http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/article/20120122/NEWS01/301220031/INVESTIGATION-CONTINUES-INTO-FIRE-CLAIMED-2-MARIST-STUDENTS-FRIEND]FAIRVIEW”>http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/article/20120122/NEWS01/301220031/INVESTIGATION-CONTINUES-INTO-FIRE-CLAIMED-2-MARIST-STUDENTS-FRIEND)</p>
<p>My heart goes out to their families and friends. I can imagine nothing worse than losing your child. May God be with them and grant them some comfort. And may He also be with and grant comfort to the survivors.</p>
<p>There was an off campus apartment fire in a small UW campus town a few years ago. Unfortunately the students were so inebriated they didn’t hear the smoke alarm heard by others outside the building. Always tragic when any young person loses their life. My condolences.</p>