Miami University students somber after 3 deaths in house fire

OXFORD, Ohio -- Students stunned by the deaths of three Miami University classmates in a house fire left bouquets of flowers at the site and paused for moments of silence in classes Monday, leaving the normally buzzing campus unusually still.\n"It's really quiet today everywhere," said Jennifer Hanson, 19. "Even when people are talking, this is what they're talking about."\nFire investigators were still trying to determine what sparked the blaze in the 19th-century brick home early Sunday, sending flames shooting out the windows. Investigators believe the fire started accidentally in the living room or recreation room on the first floor, fire chief Len Endress said.\nThe house, rented by nine students, complied with fire safety codes.\nAuthorities said one of the residents, Sebastian Barsh, used his cell phone to report the fire just after escaping through his first-floor bedroom window. He told a 911 dispatcher that a smoke detector woke him, and he saw a red glow under his bedroom door.\n"There's still somebody inside, I think," Barsh said on the tape.\nFire officials interviewed the eight survivors Monday, one of whom jumped to safety from a second-story window. Investigators believe 11 people -- seven residents and four guests -- were in the house when the fire started.\nJulia Turnbull, 21, of Milford, Ohio, and Kathryn Welling, 21, of Bronxville, N.Y., died of carbon monoxide inhalation in second-floor bedrooms, Endress said.\nA cause of death had not been determined for Stephen Smith, 22, of Bethesda, Md. Smith apparently had been shaken awake by a housemate and made it down a flight of stairs before becoming disoriented in the smoke, Endress said. His body was found near the front door.\nSmith, a rugby player, single-handedly stopped two scoring drives in a rugby game the day before the fire, friends said. The marketing major, who was expected to graduate next month, was known for his ability to make people laugh.\n"He had a lot of fun, and he knew people all over campus," said Sara Waterfield, 22, who met Smith in a study abroad program.\nTurnbull was a senior mass communications major, and Welling was a junior in the business school.\nMourners stopped by the house throughout the day Monday, some crying and hugging each other. Flowers were piled outside.\nThe house was in a neighborhood of older homes surrounded by large trees a few blocks from the campus, about 30 miles northwest of Cincinnati. Its roof had partly collapsed, and its windows had been blown out.\nUniversity President Jim Garland sent a note to faculty asking that they be sensitive to students' needs in Monday's classes.\nRhetta Bowers, 20, said one teacher let her class leave early.\n"I don't think I'll go to any of my other classes," she said. "It's just somber"