WKU News & Events

February 19, 2002

Reward Offered In WKU
Residence Hall Arsons

Bowling Green, Ky. - Western Kentucky University is offering a $2,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for a series of arsons in Pearce-Ford Tower.

At 1:35 a.m. Tuesday, someone set fire to paper towels in a trash can in the 23rd floor kitchen. The fire caused some damage to a wall and cabinet before being extinguished by the sprinkler system. However, there was smoke damage on the 23rd floor and water damage on several other floors.

While surveying the building, Housing officials also discovered burnt paper towels in a seventh floor kitchen trash can. That fire was self-extinguished and caused no damage.

Elevators in the 27-floor building will also be off until at least Wednesday while water is removed from the elevator shaft. A complete damage estimate is not yet available.

Pearce-Ford Tower has also been plagued by three fires in the trash chute since Feb. 15, the latest at 6:47 p.m. Monday. That fire was also extinguished by the sprinkler system.

WKU Police, the Bowling Green Fire Department and the Kentucky State Fire Marshal's office are investigating all of the incidents.

"By offering a reward, we're hoping to encourage anyone with information about these crimes to come forward," said Gene Tice, WKU's vice president for Student Affairs and Campus Services.

"I want to find out who is doing this and press criminal charges," Dr. Tice said. "This is our top priority. Anyone with information is encouraged to call WKU Police."

Dr. Tice said the University is also seeking help through Crime Stoppers.

In addition to offering the reward, Housing and Residence Life is taking several steps to help prevent future incidents, according to Kit Tolbert, director of Housing Operations.

Tolbert said the building will be under a 24-hour fire watch with random patrols. In addition, doors to the kitchens will remained locked and residents will be able to check out keys from the front desk. The doors to the trash chute will be unlocked only from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.

For more information, contact Bob Skipper at (270) 745-4295. More WKU news is available on the World Wide Web at www.wku.edu. If you'd like to receive WKU news via E-mail, send a message to WKUNews@wku.edu.