No children or teachers were in the kitchen at the time of the fire. Everyone in the building evacuated quickly.
When alarms went off, everyone assumed that they were signaling the regular monthly emergency drill.
“I was the last person to exit the center, and at the time of exiting, there was no visible smoke or flame to us or the children,” said Shauna Lower, director of the Child Care Coordinating Office.
After the fire, instructors called the parents, who came to get their children early. The center’s operations resumed the following Monday.
The fire came just after the ASUU Assembly and Senate voted to allocate $25,000 to help fund a new infant child care room in the center. This new care room will be the senior class gift for the 2013-2014 senior class. The project is headed by Kendahl Melvin, senior class president, and ASUU vice president Sara Seastrand, a senior in political science.
“None of the money from the $25,000 bill that ASUU just funded will go to any damages from the fire,” Seastrand said. “The bill will only fund renovations for the infant childcare room.”
Renovation for the infant room will begin over Winter Break.
Seastrand and others have expressed the need for an infant care room in the child care facility because of the number of parents at the U. Many day care centers are expensive, especially for student parents, and usually do not have part-time hours. The Child Care program, which started in 2001, has non-traditional hours designed to help these parents continue their education.
The cost of services is cheaper than other centers in the area because of subsidized fees. The center also has free child care during finals week to help student parents prepare for the end of the semester.