Arson has frat brothers baffled

A day after the fire that burned down the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity house was ruled an arson, SAE brothers remain mystified as to who could have set the blaze.

The Bowling Green Fire Department announced Monday that the April 10 fire, which destroyed the SAE house at 1410 College St., was deliberately set. No one was harmed in the blaze; only four fraternity brothers were in the house at the time and were awakened by the smoke alarm.

“We don’t know anything,” said SAE member Lucas Davidson, 22, of Bowling Green. “We’re just as shocked as anyone else. None of us had even considered arson as a possibility.”

Davidson said he didn’t know of any threats made to the fraternity or anyone who would have a reason to burn down their house.

“There are always people who don’t like fraternities, but we’re (not disliked) any more than anyone else,” he said.

Fraternity brother Michael Casagrande, who is also the sports editor for the College Heights Herald, was the first SAE member to hear the news that the fire was arson after seeing a press release Monday from the Bowling Green Fire Department. He immediately called fraternity President Jeff Tinius, who was just elected Sunday night.

Tinius, 21, of Owensboro, said the election was scheduled before the fire and the blaze had no effect on the outcome.

“We have elections every semester,” he said. “It’s standard procedure.”

Tinius said the fraternity doesn’t know anything other than what the fire department has announced publicly.

“We don’t know anything more than you know,” he said.

According to Charley Pride, director of student activities at Western, the investigation is being handled by the city’s fire and police officials. If it turns out that a student is to blame for the fire, that individual would face action from the legal system and Western would impart its own punishment.

Pride added that he knows of no threats made against the fraternity.

“We’re more than willing to work with (the investigators), but for the most part, it’s their investigation,” Pride said. “But we will do whatever they need.”

Since the fire, fraternity members have scattered to live in other places around campus and Bowling Green. Officers were given space in an apartment across the street by the Rev. Darrell Venters, priest at the adjacent Newman Center, while other members have moved in with friends or made other arrangements.

Western plans to buy the property, WKU President Gary Ransdell said April 11.

SAE had already planned to join Western’s Greek Village, a community of fraternity and sorority houses adjacent to campus. Western’s Board of Regents has approved preliminary plans for the village, which will begin taking shape once the city realigns 14th Street.

Each fraternity and sorority will be responsible for funding, building and maintaining their own houses. The land will be given in tracts to participating Greek organizations by the university.

“We’ll just have to take it in a step-by-step process,” Tinius said. “We’ll see how the university reacts to the house fire and how it progresses with the Greek Village.”

Bowling Green Kentucky KY Daily News