ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, February 25, 1996 TAG: 9602260058
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RADFORD
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITER
A Radford University senior died early Saturday morning after fire broke out in the rear of his off-campus apartment on Grove Avenue.
Christopher Thomas Mirch, who police say was about 21, was taken from the house by members of the Radford Fire Department and transported to Radford Community Hospital, where the Centreville native was pronounced dead shortly after 3 a.m.
It is the second tragedy to strike Radford University this month. Freshman Valerie Cole, 18, was found dead in her room Feb. 10 from alcohol poisoning.
Firefighters found Mirch in a bathroom on the upper floor of the two-story brick house, next to his own room. Attempts to revive him failed.
The bathroom was directly above where the fire appeared to have been worst. Only the charred remains of a white porch wall still stood below the shattered glass of the bathroom window Saturday afternoon.
At least one student escaped the 2 a.m. fire. Dexter, a dog belonging to one of the residents, was also saved.
The building walls seemed intact and students spent part of Saturday afternoon removing property from inside, despite a yellow police ribbon sealing off the property.
The cause of the fire was not known Saturday. "There's a lot of speculation," said Radford Fire Marshal Calvin Whitt, but he said authorities simply do not know at this point whether the cause was accidental or not.
Samples from the area where the fire started have been gathered for laboratory analysis to see if they contain anything that could have been used to ignite or accelerate the blaze.
Whitt said he called in Virginia State Police investigators, along with the city's detective office, to help him look into the case. "We're covering all the bases," he said.
The three students to whom the property was rented by Bondurant Realty had been associated with Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity. The local chapter had its charter withdrawn by the national organization in late 1991 and lost its university recognition after incidents involving hazing, fighting and property destruction.
Evelyn Strickland, a Radford student from a neighboring apartment, said some students thought they heard an explosion in the back of the house at the time of the fire. She said there had been propane heating supplies stored there.
Mirch's sister, Jennifer, also attends Radford University.
LENGTH: Medium: 53 lines KEYWORDS: FATALITYby CNB