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News

House fire displaces 11 fraternity brothers

Residents of PKT house still dealing with aftermath of blaze

By Tina Marie Macias
Senior Staff Writer

For 11 members of the Phi Kappa Theta fraternity, the winter break was spent finding new housing and replacing items lost in an electrical fire at their near-campus fraternity house.

"Instead of being able to work or spend time with family, or have a vacation whatsoever, I've been trying to find a new place to live," PKT member Jason Short said.

Short, a staff writer for The Daily Cougar, said he has been living with his parents in Sweeny -- about 65 miles south of Houston, a 90-minute commute -- since the Dec. 12 fire.

"I've been commuting back in forth when I need to do anything for work or for school," Short said. "Right now, I've been staying with friends and fraternity brothers -- whoever has a spot for a night or two."

Though Short hasn't found a place to live close to the campus yet, PKT President Thushan Perera said the fraternity's alumni chapter worked with members to find new places for them to live.

"The alumni helped us out a lot," Perera said. "A lot of the brothers' parents have taken in a few of the guys and helped out like that."

Perera said the fraternity had trouble holding meetings without the house, but worked within the chapter to continue activities.

"It's kind of difficult to run a chapter without the house," Perera said. "We've been meeting at brothers' houses and parents' houses just to keep the brotherhood alive."

No one was in the house when the fire began at about 1 a.m. Dec. 12 in PKT member Joel Stell's room. His room was destroyed and the rest of the house had smoke and water damage.

Perera said Stell's dog died in the fire.

Old wiring caused the fire, Perera said. The house, at 4450 S. MacGregor Way, was built in 1936. It was demolished Dec. 30; Perera said a new house should be ready sometime next year.

"One room caught on fire, but it was the room directly above mine," Short told The Daily Cougar in December. "So when they turned the 10,000 gallons of water on the house ... it went straight though the floor and it went straight into my room."

Most electronics were destroyed, Short said, and because the house was uninsured, members have had to replace destroyed items themselves.

"The guy who lost everything, Joel Stell, still hasn't been able to buy a computer, and he's going to need it for school," Perera said.

Donations may be sent to PKTAA at P.O. Box 57155, Houston, 77257-1556.
 

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