Iowa State fraternity causes fire damage to property in final days of lease

Danielle Gehr | The Des Moines Register

Show Caption Hide Caption Ames fraternity causes fire at leased property during bonfire After adding couches to their firepit, the fire grew out of control, its heat causing a window to crack. The fraternity, Delta Chi, lost the opportunity to lease again in January after other indiscretions.

Members of an Iowa State University fraternity started an out-of-control bonfire in the final days of their lease at an apartment building that had already decided not to allow them back, officials said.

In the early morning of July 22, Delta Chi fraternity members had a bonfire at the apartment building on the corner of Knapp Street and Welch Avenue in Ames. The decision to throw in couches and other furniture items led to a call to police and damage to the building.

Their lease was set to end July 31.

In January, RentAmes Property Management informed Delta Chi it would not offer a new lease because of alcohol-related incidents, citing safety as a reason for refusing housing to the fraternity that had rented out the entire building for the past three years.

Nate Welty, a property manager with RentAmes, said the company won't be renting to any other Greek organizations after this.

"The experience is extremely poor and we would not consider any others," Welty said.

Building surveillance caught the bonfire on camera, showing fraternity members start by throwing in couch cushions before deciding to throw the entire couch in the fire. A couple of men are shown pulling back a wooden table that appeared to be a few feet from the flames.

After the fire died down, a second couch was thrown in, which caused the flames to grow out of control. People in the backyard began to back away from the fire; several went inside.

Police arrived after receiving a call around 3:13 a.m., and Ames firefighters extinguished the blaze, according to the police report. The fire did not touch the building, but the report said it was close.

The police report said the fire was next to propane tanks and near a moped. One resident was cited for open burning, punishable by a $135 fine. Welty said he wasn't notified of the fire until police said something more than a week later.

"They don't try to tell us much," Welty said, "They're not fans of us because of the non-renewal."

Estimated costs for damage have not been determined, Welty said. He said that a contract specifies that the leasing party will have to cover the costs.

Welty said that several windows cracked as a result of the heat of the fire and that nearby trees were burned, though Sgt. Mike Arkovich said officers reported only one window cracked on the ground level. The report did not mention damage to trees.

Welty said the hallways in the building smelled of soot after the fire.

"Remember, safety is the number one thing to look for when you're having some sort of fire pit," Arkovich said.

Christian Charbonneux, president of Iowa State Delta Chi Housing Corporation, an entity that works on housing matters for the fraternity, said he did not know about the fire before a reporter asked him for comment. He declined to speak about it or past problems. Marquez Brown, the Iowa City-based fraternity's interim executive director, could not be reached to comment Monday. Fraternity members could not be reached to comment.

RentAmes has owned the building for 18 years. Delta Chi leased the entire building and gave apartments to members. Welty said all the building's apartments are leased for the start of the fall semester.

After Delta Chi moved in three years ago, Welty said incidents didn't start until after a year into the lease. He said issues got worse over the summer.

"When fewer of them are there, there are more problems," Welty said.

Building managers notified Delta Chi in January that it would not be allowed a new lease after several alcohol-related incidents. Welty said the fraternity members broke into the roof last summer and began playing beer pong. He said the roof is dangerous, but the fraternity members "didn't seem to care."

"Our main concern is people's safety; that is one of the reasons we non-renewed," Welty said.

Welty said other renters, most of whom are students, don't cause these types of issues. He said he contacted Iowa State Office of Greek Affairs about the incident last summer.

Billy Boulden, ISU's director of Greek affairs, said he wasn't notified about any issues until January. He said a meeting with chapter representatives about being a good neighbor went well.

Boulden said sororities and fraternities at Iowa State are "self-governing organizations." He said the chapter and the landlord had their own lease agreement. The Office of Greek Affairs serves as support for the organizations.

Delta Chi is the only ISU fraternity that leases its property. Its future housing plans are not publicly known. Iowa State has not made any determination about whether students involved could be subject to discipline.