STATE : 23 Hurt in College Dorm Blaze
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SAN JOSE — Two students were in critical condition with burns after an early morning fire today that injured at least 23 students in a dormitory at San Jose State University.
Four students were in serious condition, including one who suffered a broken back jumping from a third-story window. At least seven were treated for smoke inhalation and minor injuries in the blaze that forced more than 160 students out of Andrew Moulder Hall.
“I opened the door, and fumes and smoke entered the room, and people started shouting ‘Fire! Fire!’ It was very wild,” said Jorg Stoka, a bathrobe-clad German exchange student who lives on the second floor of the three-story brick dormitory downtown.
The fire was reported shortly before 6 a.m. and put out within an hour. The cause was unknown but it was believed to have started on the third floor of the east wing.
Most Moulder Hall students, many wearing bathrobes and slippers, had no time to grab any possessions as they fled their building.
“You just get out of there. You don’t think,” said junior Jana Garrett.
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