Police Release Names Of N.C. State Students Who Died In Fire

The fire happened at 6:30 a.m. in a house that was transformed into a duplex on

Groveland Avenue

, which is just off Oberlin Road and Hillsborough Street.

Police said Mark Brandon Davis of Raleigh, a senior majoring in materials science engineering, and Dylan Pilkington of Grifton, a sophomore majoring in mechanical engineering, were killed at the duplex at 126 and 128 Groveland Avenue.

Both victims were found on the top floor of the duplex.

Eight members of the

Sigma Alpha Mu

fraternity live in the duplex, but it was not a fraternity house. Ten people were inside when the fire broke out in a game room on the ground floor of 128 Groveland Ave., police said.

"Some people managed to leave the building, including one who jumped from the second story," Jim Sughrue, spokesman for the Raleigh Police Department, said.

The man who jumped from the second story was taken to WakeMed for broken bones, Sughrue said. He was listed in good condition on Saturday.

A firefighter was also treated for minor burns, police said.

The cause of the fire is not yet known, though authorities believe the fire was an accident.

N.C. State vice chancellor for student affairs Tom Stafford said he believed it was the university's first deadly off-campus house fire.

Elisabeth Condrone, who also works for N.C. State, said her son was pledging with the fraternity. He lived in a basement apartment at the duplex.

Condrone said her son, Michael Haggerty, got out of the building. He was treated for smoke inhalation but otherwise was not injured, she said.

"He said he could see the fire," she said. "He said it all happened so quickly that those who got out didn't realize what had happened."

Condrone said she was relieved her son was not one of the victims, but she was filled with sadness for the victims' families.

"It hits close to home," she said. "I don’t know what to tell you."

On Friday, grief counselors were made available on campus for students, many of whom were away on fall break.

In a statement released by N.C. State, Chancellor James L. Oblinger said: "I join the entire N.C. State family in grieving the loss of our students, and we extend our deepest sympathies to their families, friends and loved ones. N.C. State will continue to assist all those affected and their families during this difficult time."

Parents and family members seeking additional information may call

(919) 515-2446

or 515-3000 after 5 p.m.