Tigerville, SC -
An overnight fire damaged at
least four rooms in the Thomas C. “Nap” Vandiver
Residence
Hall, North Greenville University’s newest residence hall set to open this
fall.
The fire was ruled an accident by the Tigerville Fire
Department. A plumber was repairing a leaking faucet on an exterior wall
of the 72-bed residence hall., which was only two weeks from completion. Heat
was used during the repairs, which left a spark smoldering for hours. Due to
yesterday’s intense heat, a blaze erupted on the east side of the building
between 8:30 and 9:00 p.m.
A local jogger noticed the flames and ran across Highway 414
to the home of university president, Dr. Jimmy Epting. The president hurried
to the scene, while his wife called 911.
Besides Tigerville, fire departments from Lake Cunningham and
Glassy Mountain responded. They were able to extinguish the fire around 3 a.m.
Damage was limited to the eastern most portion of the
two-story residence hall, including at least four rooms, a stairwell, hallways
and portions of the roof. Fortunately, no one was in the building at the time
of the fire and no injuries resulted from the blaze. There has been no
estimate of the repair costs, but the building was insured.
"Although we were definitely disappointed and quite sad about the fire, we're
certainly glad no one was injured and realize it could've been a lot worse,"
said Epting. "We were planning on using the new hall for our Centrifuge camps
starting next week, and won't be able to pursue that now. However, we hope to
get it back in shape before school begins the second week of August."
Because of the extensive growth of the university over the
last decade, the hall is needed to handle the influx of students this fall.
"Since we have many
more students wanting to come here we certainly need the 72-bed residence hall
to accommodate this growth," said Epting. "So, we appreciate the continuing
prayers as we try to move forward on this project."
The Vandiver Residence Hall is part of a recent building boom
on the northern Greenville county campus.
Directly across Highway 414 from Vandiver is the new North
Greenville University Athletic Complex, home to the Melvin and Dollie Younts
Football Stadium, where the Crusaders will play their second season in the new
facilities.
In the center of the campus, the Todd Dining Hall and Tingle
Student Life Center was completed last year. The 52,000 square feet facility
seats 1,200 students for dining upstairs. The lower level contains the student
life center, which consists of among other things, a grill, bookstore, post
office, game room, radio station, television studio and offices.
The new residence hall is still set to be the latest building
opening when it begins housing female residents this August.
Evan Hampton, writer for The Skyliner, contributed;
top photo by Ryan Stone, photographer for The Skyliner
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