Last month, two separate fires in the University of New Hampshire’s (UNH) Dimond Library, sparked an ongoing arson investigation by the UNH Police Department (UNH PD). The fires, which occurred on the library’s second floor at 3:15 p.m on Feb. 5, and 4:30 p.m on Feb. 6, allegedly began in restroom trash cans. The unresolved nature of the fire investigation has left the UNH campus to wonder who, or what perpetrated the fires.
Some students present at the time of the initial fires expressed concern over how evacuation procedures were handled. All students interviewed have chosen to remain anonymous for privacy concerns.
Student witnesses alleged that during the Feb. 5 fire, Dimond’s alarm system failed to activate. According to those present, library staff moved throughout the building with conflicting instructions. They mentioned some staff alerted students to evacuate the building, while others told students to remain where they were.
“I didn’t hear a fire alarm at first. The staff were just walking around telling us to leave without saying why,” said a student who was studying with her friends at the time of the fire. “We were so confused because they were so rude, but now we understand, of course.”
Several students voiced their concerns surrounding the level of training UNH library staff have surrounding fire safety.
Kimberly Burke Sweetman, the dean of the UNH library said “the [UNH library] evacuation procedure is the same as for any other public building: when there is an alarm activation, anyone in the library should proceed to the nearest emergency exit.”
One student, who was interviewed by UNH PD, raised concern with the department’s questioning process. “I was minding my own business when the police came in, and they said they needed to talk to me,” said the third year student who was in Dimond’s third floor printing area at the time of the initial fire. “I was not the only person they talked to, but it was still scary. I know I didn’t do anything, but I was still nervous. They [UNH PD] asked me what I was doing at the printer, and the whole situation felt really weird because to me it felt like they were trying to get me to admit to it [starting the initial fire]. I don’t know, though it could have just been me being nervous,” said the student.
In the days following the fires, potential arson suspects became the focal point of discourse on YikYak, an anonymous community app for college students that allows users to post, comment and message with other anonymous campus members.
One YikYak user, who was verified to be a UNH student by The New Hampshire (TNH), commented “Feeling cute today, might start another fire.” Their comment has since been taken down by the platform. However, the student stated they were brought in by UNH PD for questioning due to their post.
“I thought it was a funny joke at the time but after the second fire I tried to take it down but noticed YikYak had already removed it,” said the YikYak commenter. The student alleged that during the questioning, an officer attempted to pressure them into admitting involvement in the fires. They maintained they had no connection to either incident at Dimond, and expressed a lack of confidence in how the situation was handled by UNH PD.
Some students, however, expressed that they thought UNH PD acted appropriately during the investigation.
One sophomore stated that “if someone sets the library on fire, that is serious. I would rather be questioned intensely, than have the police not take it seriously.”
In a statement to TNH, the interim police chief, Captain Mark Collopy wrote, “At this time, the investigation is still active and on-going and we encourage anyone who may have seen anything or heard anything about those events to call the UNH Police Department at (603) 862-1427. At this time, we have no further comment.”
As of publication, the Durham Fire Department, nor Dimond Library have released public statements regarding the arson investigation.
