Last revised: September 22, 2006 | Tech School Photos  |  Album #2.  #3.  #4.

SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY, New York
Photo Album #1.

Syracuse University, (Syracuse, New York), home of AFIT (Air Force Institute of Technology) is where many of us (203's) learned Russian Language. Your Webmaster arrived on January 3, 1959 and fortunately survived the dormitory fire in the early morning hours of January 6, 1959 in which 16 of us were injured and hospitalized with burns and lacerations and 7 of our classmates died in the fire. The dorm was one of the old tin-roofed buildings, (seen on the right in the photo below), that were built as 'temporary quarters' back in the 40s and still used in 1959. Click HERE for News Articles and Photos about this tragedy.

(Photos Courtesy of Arnie Olson)

 A.F.I.T. - Temporary Billets (Built in 1941)

Letter from Captain A.J. Del Signore, AFIT Commander in the Syracuse Post-Standard, thanking Syracuse for their generous and unselfish response with blood donations in connection with the tragic fire on Jan. 6, 1959.

Thanks to Tom Emdy (left in above photo) and Charlie Varvel for sharing the Thank You note and the above photo. Tom was at Syracuse, and stationed with the 6916th at Rhein?Main AFB, Frankfurt flying in C-130's to the Baltic Sea and then TDY to Adana, Turkey.

January 6, 1959 - The day of the early-morning fire that destroyed
one of the dormitories below, was also a typical snowy winter day
in Syracuse, NY as we ran through the snow to another building's
Day Room to wait for ambulances and fire trucks.

(Photos Courtesy of Arnie Olson)

Syracuse, NY - Summer 1958 - View of SKYTOP (AFIT) from hill above.

Syracuse University - AFIT - Graduation 1958
(6 Russian Instructors and 3 students)
(3rd from left is Dr. Pavel Krasnopolsky - Grammar instructor fluent in 14 languages)

(Photos Courtesy of Arnie Olson)

Eventually, new brick dormitories were built, and the old tin 'fire-traps' were torn down.

Those of us that lost everything in the fire, after we got out of the hospital, were given replacements for everything that could be replaced at nearby Griffiss AFB, Rome, NY. The people of the city of Syracuse, and other communities in the NorthEast were very helpful in writing letters, phone calls and gifts for all the young guys that were in the fire.

The grassy area between the buildings in front of the parking lot is the former location of the old tin roofed buildings (temporary dormitories/barracks) built in the '40s and where the former dormitory that burned down was located before 1959.

Here's a photo of the Skytop chow hall where we all spent many hours during our time at AFIT, Syracuse University. Remember the covered walkway connecting the chow hall to a temporary building that held a Syracuse Univesity bookstore and a day room with a pool table.?

SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY (AFIT) Alumni:

We invite all former students of Syracuse University (AFIT) to submit their stories and photos for this new memory section of 40+ years ago. We especially invite anyone recalling the fire of 1959, anyone actually in the fire, and anyone that helped the students as they ran from the burning building, through the snow and cold, to a nearby day room of another dorm to await ambulances and fire trucks.

If anyone has any photos or newspaper clippings, please send them to me and I'll scan them and return them to you.

Thanks,

Last revised: September 22, 2006

Copyright © 2006 by RWF2000 Internet Consulting