Canteen on Fire?

Cool_CM

Was just walking past the canteen there, loads of smoke coming out of the roof and the building has been evacuated. Mad sh*t altogether!

The guy

On open day of all days.

Kila

Any updates or anything?

slumped

http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/1128/fire.html

All ok apparently.

"A fire has broken out in a restaurant on the university campus in Maynooth, Co Kildare.

The fire service was alerted at 11.27am this morning. Four units from Leixlip and Maynooth fire services were sent to the scene at NUI Maynooth.

The restaurant was evacuated immediately and nobody has been injured.

AdvertisementFirefighters are still trying to bring the fire, which is burning in the restaurant on the northern end of the campus, under control."

golden gal

Any word on the sports halls? Wonder if this will have any impact on the exams....

r3nu4l

Any updates or photos?

Armadillo

r3nu4l wrote: »

Any updates or photos?

This about sums it up...

LeixlipRed

****ing nuts. Witnessed it myself. In shock tbh. Spent so much time there over the years. Just seen those nice old ladies who work on the tills there in tears on south campus. Very sad

Holsten

golden gal wrote: »

Any word on the sports halls? Wonder if this will have any impact on the exams....

Cancelled! A's for everyone! Huzzah!

r3nu4l

Armadillo wrote: »

This about sums it up...

wocka wocka

LeixlipRed wrote: »

****ing nuts. Witnessed it myself. In shock tbh. Spent so much time there over the years. Just seen those nice old ladies who work on the tills there in tears on south campus. Very sad

So how bad is the damage to the building?

LeixlipRed

The structure seems to be intact. The roof on the canteen is completely gone. Sports Hall seems to be undamaged but I would say there'd be serious smoke and water damage so it could be destroyed for all we know.

Dunder Mifflin

golden gal wrote: »

Any word on the sports halls? Wonder if this will have any impact on the exams....

Heard the exams are cancelled!

LeixlipRed

Will you stop. Talk about rumours

AtomicHorror

Dunder Mifflin wrote: »

Heard the exams are cancelled!

Unlikely! I'd say they'll just use extra lecture halls/classrooms if need be.

Watched the proceedings from our lab in Biosciences. Some grey smoke from the kitchen area and the canteen building was evacuated. They cleared the area. Smoke for about twenty minutes then the whole thing stepped up a notch. Our smoke alarms went off (it was blowing right at the building) and we evacuated Bioscience. The smoke turned black. Roof tiles started exploding, so there was some small debris starting to get thrown from the building. Within five more minutes, flames were visible across the entire canteen hall and the lobby. It basically went out of control at that point. We were cleared away from the path of the smoke, presumably for health reasons. There was some light debris and ash starting to fall into the field on the far side of the Bioscience building, so they might have been worried about possible injuries.

When I left about twenty minutes later, it had either mostly burned out or was under control of the fire brigade. There was still black smoke coming from the new extension to the canteen, but the rest of the smoke was thinning. No sign of them letting us back into Bioscience so most of us just went home.

mp3guy

Rumors are:

Malfunctioning fridge circuitry, or builder welding roof tiles.

starflake

I cant believe it... it's so sad!

AtomicHorror

mp3guy wrote: »

Rumors are:

Malfunctioning fridge circuitry, or builder welding roof tiles.

Too soon to tell really. I'd have assumed:

15 years of chip fat + a sneaky cig.

Holsten

"Youuuuuu..., your canteen on fire.....
And youuuuu, your canteen on fire....
Consumed with whats to transpire!!!!"

LeixlipRed

Or an arson minded school kid

r3nu4l

LeixlipRed wrote: »

Or an arson minded school kid

I remember once taking a group of scouts to a holiday camp. Within 45 minutes of our arrival the security team contacted us to say that one of our scouts had a liking for combining lit matches and rubbish bins

I'm sure all the speculation will continue until someone gets news of the Fire Officers report in to the cause of the fire.

Ostrom

Strange how it happens on open day. Just passed a bunch of kids on south campus saying 'f**kin maynouuut never comin eeeeere!!'

Last year, mumps.

This year, fire.

Next year godzilla?

mp3guy

Holsten wrote: »

"Youuuuuu..., your canteen on fire.....
And youuuuu, your canteen on fire....
Consumed with whats to transpire!!!!"

A prize for captain original :rolleyes:

I hope the rebuild doesn't take ages, like the tiny extension which was taking way too long for what it was.

LeixlipRed

Godzilla? Where do I get tickets for said event?

AtomicHorror

efla wrote: »

Strange how it happens on open day. Just passed a bunch of kids on south campus saying 'f**kin maynouuut never comin eeeeere!!'

Yes... as if they'd be let in anyway :rolleyes:

efla wrote: »

Last year, mumps.

This year, fire.

Next year godzilla?

The Annual Maynooth Open Day Disaster. The stakes get higher every year!

Ostrom

AtomicHorror wrote: »

Yes... as if they'd be let in anyway :rolleyes:



The Annual Maynooth Open Day Disaster. The stakes get higher every year!

Yeh... I'm not jaded (too much yet) but its getting worse. 17 year olds speaking in sentences of 70% preposition, and within five minutes, I passed two groups being told by their guide where the best pubs were.

Bring back fees.

Or Godzilla.

Holsten

Stolen pic!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bbusschots/sets/72157610339246068/

The guy

Great, I wasn't in on an eventful day.

I was in the canteen yesterday and the alarm went off every twenty minutes.

Kila

The pic of the fire you posted is in this set (http://www.flickr.com/photos/8793088@N04/sets/72157610292188249/). I can't take credit for any of those pics, they were sent to me via phone and email as it occurred.

The bart buschotts set (the link you posted) is some aftermath photos.

AtomicHorror

Holsten wrote: »

Stolen pic!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bbusschots/sets/72157610339246068/

That's a good picture. I'm sure some were taken from upstairs in Bioscience too. There were co-workers of mine taking snaps as were ushered away due to the roof exploding.

Fun.

It's a shame really, I'm sure the university could do without the cost and hassle of rebuilding.

Ginny

Ah Jaysus...:(
Spent many an afternoon there...

jasonb

Me too! Anyone remember it being built? We used to eat in a much smaller canteen in the Arts Block, back when I was young. The 'new' canteen and sports block were much appreciated when they opened.

I have to ask though, was there no Sprinkler System or such in place?

J.

banquo

Youtube Link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIGojVwKSM8

AtomicHorror

Reported in the Leinster Leader. True to form, the fire is described as having been "small". I'm not sure anyone but the NUIM PR guys would agree.

http://www.leinsterleader.ie/news/Fire-at-NUI-Maynooth.4744078.jp

andyman

I was at the Open Day today and was at the Arts talk when I heard about it. Mad shiz altogether.

Other then that, though, I think it's grand oul University. It's one of only 2 places that do the particular course I want to do. I was originally going to go for DCU but today might change my mind. Lovely place and a nice little town as well as the fact that the guides were the nicest people I've ever spoken to.

AtomicHorror

banquo wrote: »

Youtube Link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIGojVwKSM8

Yeah, I'm in that vid. That's mostly Bioscience staff being herded away. The popping sound is the roof tiles exploding.

ektich

AtomicHorror wrote: »

Reported in the Leinster Leader. True to form, the fire is described as having been "small". I'm not sure anyone but the NUIM PR guys would agree.

http://www.leinsterleader.ie/news/Fire-at-NUI-Maynooth.4744078.jp

NUIM PR guys came up with "small fire" idea in a first place!

http://communications.nuim.ie/press/281108.shtml

AtomicHorror

ektich wrote: »

NUIM PR guys came up with "small fire" idea in a first place!

http://communications.nuim.ie/press/281108.shtml

Gotta love the closing lines. Nothing to do with fire, but essential I'm sure.

The tone sorta reminds me of a sketch:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejCqVyROqno

FranchisePlayer

Was there today myself for the open day was some scary **** never seen anything like it most of people from my school freaked.

LeixlipRed

ektich wrote: »

NUIM PR guys came up with "small fire" idea in a first place!

http://communications.nuim.ie/press/281108.shtml

Biggest fire I've ever seen. Though admittedly I don't see many fires...

banquo

AtomicHorror wrote: »

Gotta love the closing lines. Nothing to do with fire, but essential I'm sure.

The tone sorta reminds me of a sketch:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejCqVyROqno

Heh. That's bang on.

Ostrom

AtomicHorror wrote: »

Gotta love the closing lines. Nothing to do with fire, but essential I'm sure.

The tone sorta reminds me of a sketch:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejCqVyROqno

Shameful shíte to be honest.

Along with the photoshopped commuter line posters

token56

Two pictures of the aftermath attached.

Fire services did good job of not letting it spread to the sports hall section. Was pretty amazing to watch it go up though.
At least all the secondary students got a warm welcoming.

I'll get my coat.

ironictoaster

Feck, I knew I should have went today. I'll see the aftermath tomorrow so.

AtomicHorror

efla wrote: »

Shameful shíte to be honest.

Along with the photoshopped commuter line posters

You mean the press release or the youtube link?

Something a bit more honest:

Dear Colleagues,

As you will be already aware a major fire occurred in the Student Canteen building on the North Campus earlier today. Thankfully, due to the prompt response of our security and safety staff the building was evacuated immediately and there have been no injuries or loss of life.

The building is totally destroyed and consequently there will be some inconveniences for students and staff that may extend over several months. In order to deal with the immediate issue of catering facilities special arrangements are being put in place. These will include extending the lunchtime hours for staff and students in Pugin Hall (will be open from 12 noon to 2.30 p.m. for the rest of term, and you are encouraged to avail of this facility), and also extending the services to staff in the Staff Common Room.

Additional facilities are being arranged for students at a number of venues on the North Campus. As more specific details become available they will be communicated to all staff and students.

We regret any inconvenience that will arise and ask for your forbearance over the coming weeks and months.

Sincerely,
Jim Walsh
Deputy President

scott.s

That was some fire!

I got a good few pics and videos so I'll see what I can upload later or tommorrow.

Hope the hall isn't too damaged. I'm part (Captain) of the Trampoline Club and we had one of our tramps set up in the hall at the time. If that's damaged, it's worth a few thousand euro

whiteandlight

I know one of the firemen who have been fighting it. Only finished up about an hour ago so thats a good long battle against a "small" fire as stated by NUIM!
According to him the fire started at the flat roof at the back of the canteen where there was felting going on and spread very very quickly to the rest of the canteen.
The canteen is gutted, will need to be totally rebuilt. The shop/foyer/sports halls are smoke and water damaged but nothing that is too serius. Apparently the worst of the fire was stopped at the firedoors into the canteen and did not spread to the rest of the building.
PS also mentioned that the trampoline is still standing!

macroman

Was at the open day today - what an impression! But I managed to get videos and photos from when the fire was in a juvenile state to when it was a full blaze. Was in Bio Science Building (with a Robot playing football and some cool VR bullseye programme) and it wasn't evacuated until the smoke got really bad. Overheard a lecturer saying the Canteen was on fire, 'but it was grand'. I remember hearing at the 2fm broadcaster that the fire was under control...when the Fire Brigade hadn't even arrived at that point!

Seen a bunch of ambulances at the scene, could have just been precautionary for smoke inhalation. I remember hearing what seemed to be gas bottles explode during the fire, and the coaches swiftly exiting the car park!

Surprisingly, the train back to Pearse was fairly empty.

Rozabeez

Whatever shall the canteen correspondent do now?

banquo

HA!

LeixlipRed

Rozabeez wrote: »

Whatever shall the canteen correspondent do now?

Move to Pugin :P

Sea Sharp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIGojVwKSM8

ooh, I'm in that video aswell just for a second.

Saw the smoke coming out when it was just starting off and thought to myself "ah it'll be grand". So I went upstairs in the lab in engineering building. Was sitting there listening to music next of all teh fire alarm goes off, we're being evacuated and the canteen is a ****ing inferno. was trying to get my phone onto video mode but got kicked out before I could do so.
Complete madness.