Displaced Allston Fire Victims Opt For Burnt House Over Interim Housing In Warren

HARVARD TERRACE—A powerful nine-alarm fire in Allston displaced eight BU students on Wednesday, all of whom have opted to stay in their charred rooms instead of moving into the sweaty, cramped dorms of Warren Towers.“I got a queen-sized Tempurpedic in my room here in Allston,” said Jon Doh (CAS ’16). “Sure, it’s a burnt queen-size, but the single beds in B Tower feel like they are made out of granite.”The burned out apartment, located on Harvard Terrace, received extensive fire damage and had firefighters on scene until late into Wednesday night.The American Red Cross offered food and shelter to the 50 displaced victims, but allowed the eight BU students to stay in their charred apartment after seeing the temporary lodgings in Warren Towers.“We usually insist fire victims seek comfortable temporary housing with friends or family, but the rooms that BU offered were actually in worse shape than the burned out spaces in Allston,” said Kat Dennis, a Red Cross spokeswoman. “It’s inhumane to stick two or three kids in a room the size of a small tool shed.”Beyond the small size of the rooms, Red Cross volunteers also cited intense humidity and clogged shower drains as factors that led to the refusal of Warren Towers as an acceptable shelter.“There was so much seamen clogging those drains you would think they shot Captain Phillips in there,” Dennis said.The displaced students, while heartbroken by the loss of many irreplaceable goods, said they were glad to be able to salvage a few things.“I still got a few frozen steaks that survived the fire,” said Alan Thurston (CFA ’15). “The beef may be covered in ash, but it sure beats the meatloaf in the dining hall.”At press time, the roommate who accidentally started the fire was sheepishly suggesting the roommates “pony up” for a fire extinguisher in their next apartment.Photo via Flickr and BU student Jun Tsuboike. For more photos, click here.