May 20, 2024
By Dana Treier
Webmaster
Alvaro Llanos and Shawn Simons’ lives changed forever after two students set ablaze a banner in the third floor lounge of their dormitory, Boland Hall, around 4:30 a.m. on Jan. 19, 2000. At the time, Llanos and Simons were 18-year-old freshmen roommates at Seton Hall University in South Orange.
Like many residents in the building, which housed over 600 freshmen across six floors, Llanos and Simons, whose room was down the hall from the lounge, initially decided not to evacuate when they heard the fire alarm. Due to fraternity pranks, the fire alarm had gone off more than 30 times in the previous month, so they did not take it seriously.
By the time Llanos, Simons and many of their peers realized there was a fire in the building, it was too late. Three students were killed and 58 were injured in the blaze.
Among the most seriously injured were Llanos and Simons, who came to LHS on April 11 to share their story with the seniors in the auditorium at an annual assembly titled “After the Fire: A True Story of Friendship and Survival.”
Over the course of two hours, Llanos and Simons showed a documentary about the fire and their recovery.
They closed the presentation with takeaways about safety precautions students should take when living in a dorm.
“Our dream was to get an education, and we thought we finally made it, but this night changed our life forever,” Llanos said at the assembly.
Because of the fire, 56% of Llanos’ body and 16% of Simons’ body were burned.
“We thought it was a false alarm like the previous ones, and we never expected the darkness that was waiting for us behind the doors,” Llanos said.
Simons said their trauma led him and Llanos to dedicate their time to speaking to students at high schools and colleges.
“This program is bigger than just fire safety. It is about safety in general,” Simons said at the assembly. “When your parents send you off to college, they expect you to get an education, to socialize, start your careers and have a little fun, but the number one thing that everyone’s parents think is that you’re going to come back home.”
Although they endured a near-death experience, Llanos and Simons said they take comfort in the positive changes that came as a result of the fire.
“Because of the fire happening here in the state of New Jersey, laws passed that all colleges in this state had to go back in and put sprinklers in all the dormitories. Unfortunately, New Jersey is only one of a few states across this country that has mandatory fire sprinklers,” Simons said.
Delaware, Illinois, Wisconsin and Wyoming have similar laws requiring sprinklers in all new and existing college dormitories.
Senior Cecilia Turano, who plans to live in a dorm at Seton Hall University next year, said the assembly gave her a lot to think about.
“We all probably feel invincible going to college,” Turano said. “No one goes into college expecting anything bad to happen to them, but I think we should all be prepared.”
One of the tips Llanos and Simons gave the seniors was to count the number of doors from the room they are in to the nearest exit to be ready to quickly escape in the event of an emergency.
“This assembly prepared me to expect the unexpected,” Turano said. “I know to take every drill seriously and always know our closest exits. It’s important to be aware of the danger of living away because most kids before college rely on their parents or guardians.”
Senior Isabella Angel, who will be attending Montclair State University next year, said the assembly reaffirmed her intention to commute rather than live in a dorm.
“Most teenagers are so excited to dorm at college, to get away from their parents, to have freedom,” Angel said. “[However,] it can be very dangerous, and you cannot trust that people will always be responsible or have common sense.”
Angel said she was so moved by Llanos and Simons’ story that she bought an autographed copy of their book, which has the same name as their presentation.
“I wanted to read a more in-depth version of everything that happened,” Angel said.
“No one goes into college expecting anything bad to happen to them, but I think we should all be prepared.”
She said she was impressed by Llanos and Simons’ courage to keep spreading awareness.
“[They] are reliving the trauma and their past over and over again to warn other teenagers,” Angel said.
She said even though she did not show it, she felt emotional after the assembly.
“It opened my eyes to how such a happy and exciting place and experience can turn into such a life-changing and scarring event in just a few seconds,” said Angel.
