Fire burns Sigma Alpha Epsilon house

A fire erupted through the roof of the abandoned Sigma Alpha Epsilon house early Thursday morning, sending billows of thick white smoke down Jordan Avenue.\nMembers of Phi Kappa Sigma, also known as the Skulls, stood in astonishment as the fire grew at 1115 N. Jordan Ave. \nAs hundreds of members of the greek system lined the streets in shock, police blocked off the street and nearby houses as firefighters rushed to contain the blaze. Firefighters shot water out of hoses on the back of the house while another firefighter climbed in a lift to reach most of the flames, which were growing from the rooftop. \nAlex Sharp, a member of Phi Sigma Kappa, was one of the first people to call for help.\n"It all happened pretty quickly," he said. "There was black smoke blowing everywhere and all of the sudden huge flames started coming out of the top."\nIU Police Department Sgt. Chad Bennett said the cause and origin were unknown at the time. \n"It's an empty building, but it's still serious," Bennett said. "It's a fairly significant fire. I don't know if we're going to know what happened for a little while, at least until we can get someone qualified in there to investigate." \nJunior Richard Brucker said he learned of the fire from a phone call.\n"I drove over and it's like, Oh my god," he said. "It's the Sig Ep house."\nTamara Habib, junior, of Alpha Gamma Delta, said she was one of the first people outside to see the blaze.\n"There were really tall flames, almost above the trees, and immediately the fire trucks got there and started dousing it with water," she said. "It was really scary at first because we thought that it might have been a different house from our angle. We were fortunate the nobody was hurt in that it was a vacant house."\nIn the parking lot of Evans Scholars, herds of people clung together shaking in the cold while snapping pictures and calling other greek members.\nMembers of Sigma Alpha Epsilon have not lived in the house since 2002, when they were kicked off campus following a Feb. 2 party that was busted by IUPD, according to a March 1, 2002, Indiana Daily Student article. While the house could have returned to campus the following fall, the national SAE organization announced the chapter would be closed until further notice. \nAt 2 a.m., a pungent smoke stench still remained on the strip home to many of IU's greek houses. IUPD officers continued to question bystanders and members of several nearby fraternities and sororities for more information. \nAnyone with any information about the fire is urged to call IUPD at 855-4111.