Playing with Fire
Two former Secton Hall University students charged with arson and murder received there sentenced yesterday regarding a dormitory fire in 2000. Joseph Leopore of Floram Park and Sean Ryan of Livingston were both accused of setting fire to a dormitory lounge on January 19th,2000, killing three students and injuring dozens more. Prosecutors report that a paper banner was ignited, in Boland Hall, a building not equipped with sprinklers. Mr. Ryan pleas that it was, "a prank that got out of hand," as if calling it a mistake would compensate for the lives of the three students lost in the fire.
This devastating fire can be paralleled to the Ohio Penitentiary Fire in Ohio. It occurred on April, 21, 1930, and like the fire in Secton Hall University, it was an accident. Speculations and theories as to the cause of the fire are that a candle ignited a few oily rags on the roof of the West Block. Prison officials claimed that three inmates were hoping to create a small diversion, giving them time to escape intentionally started the fire. This is similar to the University fire, in that the perpetrators were not intending for their fires to get out of control. For one party it was a mere prank, while the other party needed a small diversion, not a widespread devastation. However, they were both unable to control their tasks which leads one to believe that the old adage about not playing with fire was created for a plausible reason.