Costs of deadly Wilfrid Laurier fire triple

According to The Record, the costs of a fire that killed one Wilfrid Laurier University student last April have ballooned to three times what assessors initially thought.

Gary Nowe, the university’s assistant vice-president of physical resources, says the costs of repairing the Waterloo school’s fire-damaged residence have tripled to about $1.2 million. That’s up from the initial repair assessment of $400,000 to $500,000.

First-year student David LaForest, 19, died from injuries he suffered after the blaze started in a fourth-floor residence room. The cause of the fire has not yet been determined.

An examination of the residence found that additional work needed to be done,  including replacing a rooftop mechanical unit that cools and heats the five-storey residence, says Nower. The $1.2-million bill will be covered by insurance.