Thirteen years after a deadly dormitory fire at Seton Hall University, two survivors shared their story of overcoming adversity Monday at Pruis Hall.
The documentary, “After the Fire,” follows Alvaro Llanos and Shawn Simons, who were living in Boland Hall at the New Jersey catholic school with about 600 other first year students when a fire broke out in the third-floor lounge on Jan. 19, 2000.
The fire killed three students and injured more than 58 others.
Llanos and Simons were two of the four most severely burnt victims.
“We went through one of the worst tragedies of our life,” Simons said. “This fire destroyed many lives and it opened up many eyes across the country as far as fire safety. My mom, she thought about me partying, she thought about me drinking, but she didn’t think about a fire.”
Many students disregarded the fire alarms that night after months of weekly false alarms, according to the documentary.
Simons said a fire escape was located three doors down from Llanos and Simons’ room, but they didn’t know that, so instead they moved toward the fire and the main staircase.
Soon after the tragedy, New Jersey passed several laws mandating sprinklers in all college dormitories.
Two freshmen, Sean Ryan and Joseph LePore, later admitted to setting a paper banner draped over a couch alight as a prank after a night of drinking.
They were each sentenced to five years in prison in 2007. Ryan served 16 months and LePore served 18 months, Simons said.
“This story is about overcoming adversity, it’s about having that will to live, it’s about us being comfortable in our own skin,” Simons said. “You look in the mirror and that’s not the person who was there yesterday.”
Simons was in a coma for two weeks and Llanos was in an induced coma for three months. Both suffered severe scars on their faces and hands and had to endure intensive therapy.
“Our outside is affected, but our inside is still the same,” Simons said. “That’s what really helped me, is being yourself.”
After the fire, Llanos met and married his wife and had children. Simons got engaged. Together, Simons and Llanos went back to school.
“We used the three F’s to get through: family, friends and faith,” Simons said.
Simons said they found out 38 states didn’t have sprinkler laws, and they decided to make sure the Seton Hall fire didn’t repeat itself.
They travel to colleges across the country in order to spread the message of fire safety and visit burn survivors to give them hope.
Mitch Isaacs, associate director of Student Life, made the decision to have Simons and Llanos come speak.
“It’s such a powerful story,” Isaacs said. “People were crying; there were sniffles. Also, it’s been a two hour program and [there are] people sticking around to talk to them. I think that says something.”
Darian Bailey, a freshman pre-medicine major, and Kathleen Mcilwain, a sophomore theatre major, found the speech inspirational.
“This could be real,” Bailey said. “I played it out in my head, how it could happen to me.”
Mcilwain also started thinking about her own fire safety.
“I’m so glad I am on the second floor [of Park Hall],” Mcilwain said. “So bam, I’m escaping. It’s a message I hope is told forever.”
