Students Rescued as Fire Sweeps Columbia Frat House

Fire swept through a Columbia University fraternity house early today, trapping several students on ledges until they were rescued by firefighters.

Three students, two women and a man, suffered smoke inhalation in the fire at the Iota Epsilon Pi fraternity in a brownstone on the city’s Upper West Side, said police Sgt. John Venetucci. One also suffered a sprained ankle, officials said.

Two girls who were visiting an older sister also suffered smoke inhalation. All of them, as well as two injured firefighters, were treated at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital and released.

The fire apparently began in a chair in a basement lounge about 1 a.m., and spread throughout the rear of the three-story building, Fire Chief John Kitson said.

Two students, a woman and a man, were standing on an ornamental window deck when firefighters arrived. Another couple had sought refuge on a window sill. All four were rescued by firefighters, Kitson said.

About six students escaped through the rear of the cellar, he said. Ten to to 11 students were in the building, owned by Columbia University, Venetucci said.