Fire Erupts Over Burnt Smores

Fire fighters brandishing axes and gas masks stormed into Weld at approximately 9:15 last night to encounter clouds of smoke caused by... a S'more.

"I was making a S'more" in a microwave oven, said Nikki B. Usher '03, referring to a snack that is made from melting marshmallow fluff and chocolate bars between two graham crackers.

"I turned around for two minutes, and all of a sudden there was smoke and the alarm started," Usher said.

Usher's roommates, three of whom were in the room when the alarm set off, were not so much scared as they were surprised.

"We thought it was the phone, but it was really loud," said Emily A. Spengler '03.

Another roommate, Liz. A. Ibazebo '03 was asleep when the alarm sounded.

"I thought it was part of my dream. I didn't smell anything at all," Ibazebo said.

Their proctor, Susan S. Lee '96, called the security guards on duty. The students opened the doors and windows, and waited for firemen to arrive.

Two fire trucks pulled up to Weld, one directly below the third-floor room's windows, according to Heather B. Long '03.

The firemen proceeded to search the room, picked the charred S'more from the trash and confiscated it.

Other Weld residents did not express any concern about the alarm, but they did smell burnt marshmallows and came down to investigate.

"It smells like there would have been a great S'more," said Aron R. Croft '03, who arrived after the firefighters left and had not heard that an actual S'more had caused the alarm.

"There was no smoking gun, just a smoking S'more," Lee, the proctor, said. She added that seeing all the students come down to check out the situation was "a huge Weld bonding moment."