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Despite strong winds, the fire did not spread to other buildings as more than 100 firefighters and 30 firetrucks battled it.
San Antonio Express-News | CNS |
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Frost Bank in San Antonio has set up an account, 01-0494593, for those who wish to donate to the "Our Lady of the Lake University Rebuilding Fund." |
SAN ANTONIO • The skyline of the Alamo city was changed the night of May 6 as a massive fire forever altered the historic Main Building at Our Lady of the Lake University, destroying some of the structure’s unique silver spires and severely damaging other majestic steeples that adorned the top of the more than century old facility. Built in 1895, the imposing gothic-style structure was designed by renowned architect James Wahrenberger and was a crown jewel in the impoverished west side neighborhood that is home to the co-educational liberal arts institution. More than 2,800 students are enrolled in the university, which was founded in 1895 by the Congregation of Divine Providence, which has a convent and a convalescent home located on the campus.
The four-alarm blaze illuminated the evening sky and was fought by 120 firefighters and close to three dozen fire trucks from the San Antonio Fire Department, over half the city’s resources.
With flames still visible on the roof of the Main Building, University President Tessa Martinez Pollack, Ph.D., and San Antonio Archbishop José H. Gomez spoke to a crowd of hundreds of students on the library steps just across the street from the fire, with the school leader saying, “We were very blessed not to have any injuries of any kind.”
A small number of students were in classes in the building when the fire alarm went off around 7:30 p.m., and they quickly evacuated the facility. Administrative offices, including the president’s workspace, are located on the first and fourth floors of the structure, with classrooms and faculty offices on the second and third floors.
A cafeteria sits behind the tan brick building, with the Theresian Hall dormitory located above the cafeteria.
Thirty-five residents of Theresian Hall were relocated to other dorms on campus following the blaze, along with 83 students from Providence Hall. That building was not damaged, and school officials said the move was only a temporary, precautionary measure. And, in fact, the residents of Providence Hall were only displaced for two days.
The San Antonio Fire Department’s Arson Investigation Unit is still conducting an investigation into the cause of the fire. On May 5, a written bomb threat forced the evacuation of the campus for several hours in the afternoon, prompting some speculation among students that the blaze was intentionally set.
However, fire department and police officials discounted the connection between the two incidents. The fire department initially ruled on May 8 that the fire was an accident, due to an electrical short in the attic of the Main Building.
The university maintains building insurance and business interruption insurance, and adjusters are assessing potential damage estimates. Preliminary estimates put the damage at $14 million.
The day following the tragedy, a “Prayer of Thanksgiving” was held at noon on May 7 at the University Wellness and Athletic Center for students, faculty and staff. Although classes had been cancelled for the day, the gym was filled to capacity with several hundred people.
Father David Gutierrez, OFM, campus chaplain, began the service by explaining the title of the gathering, saying, “We give thanks that no lives were lost, and we give thanks to those praying for this community. We give thanks that we are united, expressing our concern and embracing each other.”
Gloria Urrabazo, vice president for mission, echoed those remarks. “We thank God for the miracle that happened last night; that no lives were lost,” she said. “We are a community of faith and perseverance. We are loved. We are blessed.”
Pollack, the university president, gave an emotional address to the audience, at times elicited tears and cheers as she discussed the enormous outpouring of support from the community “in this complicated time.”
“I stand here with profound and humble gratitude to many ... to give thanks to our provident God that no one in our university family was injured in what is perhaps the greatest tragedy to descend upon our university in her history,” she said. “We owe much to the servants of the San Antonio community — our firefighters and police officers — who put up a tremendous struggle to fight a stubborn fire. ...” Following that comment, the crowd rose to its feet in a standing ovation for personnel from the San Antonio Fire Department, some of whom were in attendance at the ceremony.
Pollack continued, “We watched smoke turn into flames turn into an inferno until we also watched the collapse of one of our spires. Each one of us has been dealt an enormous loss, and our grief is palpable. We will restore Our Lady of the Lake University to its original grandeur that is visible and admired from friends around us and from downtown. I will ask for that same commitment from our friends old and new who wonder what we do here and must also embrace the university.”
She closed by saying that the historic structure lost the previous night belonged not only to the university, but to the community as well.
“We stand together as a community of faith. We each have within us the heads, hands, and hearts to take what has happened on the sixth day of May 2008 to transform it into something that can change each of us individually and all of us together into the people that providence wants us to bnecome,” said Pollack. “We stand united here in our faith that providence will always provide what we need — united in our trust that with God’s help all will be right — united in our love for one another and for our beloved university. Trust in one another is the most precious treasure we have. ... We are grieving, but we are not daunted. We have experienced agreat loss, but we are not lost.”
On May 8, a noon liturgy was held at Sacred Heart Chapel, and Father Gutierrez extended a blessing to several members of the San Antonio Fire Department in attendance at the Mass.