2-3-12
A U-W La Crosse dormitory will be closed for the rest of the school year, after a basement fire last weekend.
Drake Hall was only expected to be closed for a day or two. But yesterday, Chancellor Joe Gow said it would take 2-to-3 months for the dorm to be inhabitable again. And rather than keep causing uncertainty for the 271 residents, Gow says they should just live elsewhere for the rest of the semester. Many have hooked up with friends-and-relatives. Others have been moved to vacant rooms in other dorms. And some faculty-and-staff members have volunteered their homes to those who need them. The fire caused smoke damage in Drake Hall. Authorities now say it started in a basement couch. They've ruled out electrical problems as the possible cause.
