Image via Auzzy Byrdsell

By: Auzzy Byrdsell, Editor in Chief 

A dumpster on the backside of the Otis Moss Residential Suites caught fire tonight around 10:40 p.m. The fire was extinguished in under an hour by the Atlanta Fire Rescue Department. Nobody was harmed, and the nearby properties saw no damages.

The source of the fire is currently unknown. 

“That could be from oil or plastic and trash in the dumpster,” Community Director Dean Chris McClain said.

He did confirm there was oil by the dumpster that could have help start the fire.

Thanks to the quick response of residential advisors and McClain, students did not have to evacuate the building. 

Residential advisor Linden Young and Elijah Gilchrist were the first to contact Morehouse Campus Police Department, Atlanta Police Department, the Suite’s residential and community directors and Atlanta Fire Rescue Department. 

“I have never been trained for this,” Young said. 

Young served as one of the on duty residential advisors during the fire. He said his first instinct was ensuring the students’ safety. 

“Knowing that it was popping up and expanding and we didn’t know the source, my instinct was to keep people away from it,” he said. 

Dozens of students who live in the East and West buildings of the Suites gathered outside to see the fire. At its peak, the fire was too large to extinguish and was rapidly popping. The fire was in close vicinity to several cars and trees.  

“I’m just happy the tree didn’t set on fire or anything like that,” Young said.

By the time the fire department arrived, the fire was already beginning to die down.

The dumpsters were complete disassembled after fire. (Image via Auzzy Byrdsell)

“Depending on the spread of this fire we would have had to evacuate everybody away from the building to a space near Perdue,” McClain said. 

Perdue Hall is another residential building that sits across the street on the front side of the Otis Moss buildings. 

McClain said mandatory fire drills for the building are held twice a year for similar events and that residential and community directors live nearby for quick response in emergencies. 

“That’s pretty much how to handle this. If you see it, say something,” McCalin said. 

Copy Edited by Colin Royal, Managing Editor of Print