wo stone lions, which used to guard the front entrance of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon house, were part of the remains pulled out by fraternity members on Tuesday.
Members were allowed to go into the house a last time to salvage any belongings before the remaining exterior walls are knocked down.
Four days after the devastating early-morning fire at the SAE fraternity house at 1410 College St., investigators have still not determined a cause.
“It’s just going to have to run its course,” said Marlee Boenig, public information officer of the Bowling Green Fire Department. “We have to put the pieces of the puzzle together.”
Boenig said the time length of the investigation is normal considering everyone in the house at the time of fire was sleeping, and no one witnessed the actual start of the fire.
Since the circumstances to each investigation can be different, there is no timeframe of when the investigation will be completed, she said.
Terry McDaniel, the senior fire investigator for BGFD, and firefighter Charlie Tomes are investigating along with officials from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Two fire origin experts from the house’s insurance company also investigated the scene on Tuesday, said John Minton Jr., SAE chapter adviser and Court of Appeals Judge.
Fire department investigators met with fraternity members on Monday night at the Newman Center, he said.
“We are hoping they can pinpoint exactly what caused the fire,” Minton said. “All they were able to say is they haven’t ruled things out yet.”
Some of the remains that were pulled from the rubble on Tuesday may be preserved for use in a new structure, he said.
“It’s amazing how items become important to you when you realize you can’t have them anymore,” Minton said.
A charred piece of the original charter from the national office was recovered.
When the Western SAE chapter was established in 1965, it resided at a house at 1351 College St.
The house at 1410 College St. was purchased by the SAE housing corporation from the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity in 1975 when that organization left campus. It is estimated to be at least 100 years old, said Kevin Brooks, president of the housing corporation and an alumni adviser of SAE.
Western plans to purchase the property the fraternity house stood on whenever the SAEs are prepared to sell it, President Gary Ransdell said.
“That is part of the university master plan,” he said. “It is directly contingent to the university.”
The property will probably be used for faculty parking, Ransdell said.
The fraternity’s 40th anniversary celebration will be in October, and the absence of a house won’t be too detrimental, Brooks said.
“I think that it is probable that the attendance of alumni coming back next October will probably be even greater,” he said.
Reach Samantha Hupman at news@wkuherald.com.
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