Sorority vows fire won’t mean end

MOSCOW, Idaho – With a temporary home in a cinderblock dormitory and lunch dates at each of the sororities on campus, the women of Pi Beta Phi say they’ll make it through recruiting week and the start of school despite a fire that destroyed their sorority house last week.

“We’re not defined by our house,” 19-year-old sophomore Kelley McCallum said Monday. “You don’t pick a sorority (based) on the house. You pick it on the girls, and we’re still here.”

Fire investigators are still trying to determine what caused the attic fire at the house early Aug. 2, leaving about 45 members without a home just before the annual “rush” for new member recruiting began. No one was injured.

Moscow Fire Chief Ed Button said an attic ventilation fan likely caused the blaze, but it will take a forensic examination by the sorority’s insurance company to determine whether there was an electrical or a mechanical failure.

The University of Idaho found living space for the sorority members and as many as 20 potential new members in the Wallace residence hall.

The eight other sororities on campus are providing meals for the women and prospective members for the next two weeks. Classes start Aug. 20.

“We feel really supported, and we feel like we’re well taken care of,” said Alicia Amberg, a 20-year-old sophomore from Anchorage, Alaska. “I think we’re really all coming together as a Greek community.”

Every fraternity and sorority on campus offered support after learning of the fire, said 19-year-old Casi Akerblade, of Boise.

Claims adjusters will arrive later this week to determine whether the house can be salvaged, or if it will be torn down and rebuilt, said Lisa French, president of the Omega Phi Alpha corporation that owns the property.