Three students killed in fraternity house fire at University of Mississippi

OXFORD, Miss. (AP) _ A fire swept through a fraternity house at the University of Mississippi early Friday, killing three members, school officials said. <br/><br/>The blaze at the brick and wood-frame

Friday, August 27th 2004, 8:37 am

By: News On 6

OXFORD, Miss. (AP) _ A fire swept through a fraternity house at the University of Mississippi early Friday, killing three members, school officials said.

The blaze at the brick and wood-frame Alpha Tau Omega house broke out before dawn, and firefighters needed about two hours to bring it under control, chapter adviser Al Bell said. Hours later, smoke billowed out of where the roof had been.

Twenty-three students and a house mother had been in the building at the time, school spokesman Mitchell Diggs said. Diggs confirmed the three deaths. Twenty students and the house mother escaped; there were no reports of injuries.

The chapter has about 100 members, Bell said.

``The entire student body is pretty upset about this. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Alpha Tau Omega chapter,'' Gordon Fellows, Associate Student Body president at Ole Miss, said.

Nearby fraternity houses were evacuated. Members of ATO were taken to one of the other houses.