Written by Sarah Kyle
Harding University in Florence staff and students are rebuilding their home after a fire two weeks ago threatened to destroy the 15th century villa in Scandicci.On Thursday, Oct. 28, Harding University administrators were notified of an electrical fire at the villa after a backhoe on an adjacent property cut an electrical line, shorting out the electrical system in the villa.The fire began in one of the women’s rooms, with smoke damage extending through the entire building. All students were on free travel at the time.Upon their return, the students were temporarily housed throughout Florence and Scandicci, but HUF director Robbie Shackelford said all but seven female students have been able to move back into the villa since the fire.Free travel and school trips have kept the villa empty for restorations, he added.”We have cleaned and [started] painting the smoke-damaged rooms [Tuesday],” Shackelford said. “We just returned from Rome and [left] Wednesday for the Naples and Sorrento area, so the students have not been in the villa the entire time since the fire.”Shackelford said the upstairs room, where the fire originated, would take additional time to restore, but the architects and engineers are working to make all repairs a true restoration of the historic property. Shackelford did not have an expected completion date.Despite the hardships, Shackelford said students and staff remain positive.”They have been so understanding, real troopers,” Shackelford said. “I would like to thank everyone for the kind words they have sent via e-mail and for their prayers. We have already had some ex-HUF students asking if they could participate with a donation. Word travels fast.”Senior HUF student Hannah Beall, who was living in the room that caught on fire, said she heard about the fire just before her group returned from free travel.”None of us really knew what to expect when we arrived back at the villa, nor did we know any of the details of the damage,” Beall said. “My free travel group … was the first group to return to the villa. While we walked back up to the villa, none of us said much of anything.”Beall said she and her travel group passed by the numerous smoke-damaged rooms of the villa, finally coming to the girls’ room.”Once I got to my room, it was completely unrecognizable,” Beall said. “Everything was black. Chairs and tables were overturned. There were holes in our closets and doors. Everyone’s mattress was gone, except for my bed, which was surprisingly still made. It was all so surreal. We had just been sleeping in this room and walking through this hall.”As tragic as the damages were, Beall said the group was immediately struck by how lucky they were.”If we wouldn’t have been traveling, Morgan, Emily, Scotti, Beth and myself would have all been taking a nap in our room around the time the fire started,” Beall said. “We all lost a lot of stuff, but it’s just stuff, and stuff can be replaced.”This whole thing had the potential to really ruin students’ HUF experience. But everyone has had a whole lot of patience and an incredibly positive attitude about the adjustments we’ve all had to make. If anything, it’s made us grow closer together as a group and taught us how to fully rely on God.”
