The Seymour Fire Marshal’s Office, in conjunction with the Seymour Fire Department, will be sponsoring “After the Fire,” a fire safety presentation, on Wednesday, Feb. 10 at Seymour Middle School.
“After the Fire” features a discussion led by Shawn Simons and Alvaro Llanos. They survived a horrendous arson fire at a dorm at Seton Hall University in New Jersey 15 years ago. The fire was started as a prank.
From the “After the Fire” website:
“As the fire alarms wailed, most students thought it was just another false fire alarm, like the 30 or more false alarms that sounded the semester before. No one had any idea that there was a real fire, let alone where the fire was or how to get out of harms way.
Alvaro Llanos and Shawn Simons, 18 year old roommates at the time, thought it was just another false fire alarm as well. As they took their time getting dressed, they had no idea what was simmering down the hall from their room 3028 on the 3rd floor. An inferno was brewing at temperatures near 1600 degrees and burning down anything in its path: sofas, carpets, ceiling tile. As Shawn and Alvaro opened their room door, a burst of black smoke forced itself into their room, casuing them to quickly shut the door. Reverting to childhood education about fire, they got down on their hands and knees, opened the door and were swallowed by the black smoke in the hallway.
Scared, they crawled into the direction that they were accustomed to going, not knowing that they were crawling right into the fire. If they had went to their nearest exit, a stairwell they rarely used, there was the possibility that they could have escaped the building without injury. Unfortunately, they went towards the elevators that they used every single day and was met by the fierceness of the blaze.”
Simons and Llanos will talk about the fire and its lasting impact both physically and emotionally.
Their talk in Seymour is made possible by a $2,500 grant from the Katharine Matthies Foundation and a $1,500 grant from FM Global. The program is open to the public at no charge.
Earlier in the day they will be speaking to Seymour High School students.
The presentations include the viewing of a documentary on the subject as well as excerpts from the New York Times best-selling book, “After the Fire.”
Click here for more information about the fire and the speakers or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) at (203) 881‑5010.
