A few weeks ago, we were startled by a fire alarm in Leeuwenborch. We were to leave the building immediately, and not to take anything with us. Soon, several hundred people stood around the car park, shivering in the rain and wondering why this had to happen yet again. But we could soon tell from the smell that it wasn’t a false alarm. An electric bike in the basement bike shed had caught fire while recharging. You could see from the smoke that a battery can apparently burn quite vigorously. It was a challenge for the fire brigade to find the bike and put out the fire. The building was out of action for the rest of the day, so staff had to resort to other buildings on campus — insofar as they could do anything without the laptops they had left behind.
There had been a fire in Forum only a few days earlier; it started in meter cupboards in a lift shaft. That too forced hundreds of people to have to leave the building due to the smoke that spread across several floors. The fire brigade needed so much water to put out that fire that afterwards the basement had to be pumped dry. Forum had to close for several days because of the damage from the smoke and water.
It is striking to see two such incidents in close succession. Accidents can happen any time but the consequences for the university are pretty huge. The Leeuwenborch basement bike storage is still out of service and is likely to stay that way for now.
WUR is not liable, was the short answer
It stinks and the damage needs to be repaired. There was no access to parts of Forum, including the library, for some weeks.
Hopefully this was all a coincidence — shit happens. The Leeuwenborch staff were able to retrieve their ash-covered bikes from the basement under supervision. However, they had to sign a statement first saying they had agreed to take a bike that had not been cleaned. I asked what would happen if my bike was not only dirty but also burned. The short answer was that WUR was not liable. But I was not to worry, because only the two bikes next to the one that caught fire had been damaged.
Hmmm, I thought as I walked down to the basement. What’s the chance of my bike being one of those two? Guess where it was parked. Shit happens.
Sjoukje Osinga (57) is an assistant professor of Information Technology. She sings alto in the Wageningen chamber choir Musica Vocale, has three sons who are students and enjoys birdwatching with her husband in the Binnenveldse Hooilanden.
