On Wednesday night in DeBaun Auditorium, Shawn Simons and Alvaro Llanos presented “After the Fire”, a documentary and discussion on fire safety. It was cosponsored by the Campus Life Committee of the SGA, the Office of Residence Life, the Office of Environmental Health & Safety, the Hoboken Fire Department, and the Office of Undergraduate Student Life in order to spread awareness about fire safety in college dormitories in case of emergency.
The 53 minute documentary summarized the story of the fire that occurred at Boland Hall, a freshman dormitory at Seton Hall University on January 19, 2000, and how the lives of Shawn Simons, Alvaro Llanos, and their families were forever changed by the event. Three lives were lost to what was described as a “fraternity prank” and “senseless act of stupidity”. Alvaro and Shawn’s story is described as a “huge tragedy” and a “near death experience” by speakers in the documentary, and as “heartbreaking” and “a parent’s worst nightmare” by the families of all that were affected.
In total, there were 58 victims, most of whom suffered from smoke inhalation. However, out of those who survived the fire, Alvaro and Shawn had the worst burns and complications. The fire broke out at about 4:30 AM, a time when most students were asleep. The semester prior, the fire alarm was pulled three or four times a week in their residence hall, and during finals week it was pulled up to five times a night. They took their time in evacuating the building, at that point not knowing the gravity of the situation. The heat, estimated to be as hot as 1500 degrees Fahrenheit, was described as “what hell must feel like” by Simons in the book After the Fire by Robin Gaby Fisher which details their story from the day of the event to years after.
The investigation into who committed the arson took an exceptionally long time, and without any leads was described as an “archaeological excavation”. Even after finding the arsonists responsible for the tragedy, many call their case “imperfect justice”, as the guilty party lacked remorse for their crimes. During the trials they were reported to have smirked at Alvaro and Shawn, appearing to not be at all apologetic for their crime. Furthermore, the two who caused the fire were able to walk free after serving two and three years respectively in a juvenile detention facility, despite being in their mid-twenties.
Shawn and Alvaro have stated that it is part of their mission to share with high school and college students the dangers of residence hall fires. They emphasize that they don’t care how large their audience is; “1 or 1000 students, our presentation is the same,” says Simons. This incident has led to the improvement of fire safety awareness and education specifically in the state of New Jersey, by mandating fire sprinklers in all dorm rooms. “Unfortunately it takes a death for people to realize laws are important,” said Simons while explaining that New Jersey is only 1 of 4 states to enact such a law.
They advise to everyone, “If you hear that alarm, no matter where, or for what reason: a shooting, a fire, get out of there as fast as you can.” They don’t intend to scare anyone, but rather educate students on the dangers of a fire “[that] has no prejudice” and can injure anyone.
Please consider following Alvaro and Shawn on their Instagram page, or visit their website http://www.alvaroandshawn.com/.
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