On Thursday November 20, a fire destroyed nearly three apartments near sorority row at the University of Florida. 

According to the Royal Village Apartment resident who started the fire and wishes to remain anonymous, she and her boyfriend were conducting an “experiment” when the concoction exploded. She made sure to mention she is “not a terrorist and was not trying to make a bomb.” 

The excess of smoke set off the fire alarm and sprinklers, drenching the 3rd floor apartment as well as the 2nd and 1st floor apartments directly below.

A Gainesville Police Department spokesperson explained that the couple was trying to combine chemicals to create rocket fuel on the stove and accidentally started a grease fire.

Witnesses say that at first, a boy and a girl ran out of the apartment and the girl began to scream another girl’s name, insisting on going back into the apartment even though maintenance refused to let her. She was screaming for her friend who still had not come out of the apartment. Finally, the boy, who turned out to be her boyfriend, ran back in to rescue her. At that point, the firefighters arrived and quelled the disaster.

Alex McLaughlin, a UF student, witnessed the event and told The Odyssey Online, “everyone is okay, I think the guy has a minor burn.” However, no concrete information about the condition of the people involved has been released. 

Investigators are still examining the case and said to contact the manager of Royal Village Apartments at dwhitmore@studenthousing.com for follow-up information.