The fire began around 4:30 a.m. on January 19, 2000, when most students were asleep. Two students, later identified as Sean Ryan and Joseph LePore, set fire to a paper banner that had been partially torn off from a wall display, located in a third floor lounge. In their account, the two men were intoxicated and decided to set fire to the banner as a prank, which would cause the smoke detectors to go off and the students would evacuate into  weather.
The fire started at approximately 4:30 a.m. on January 19, 2000, when most students were sleeping. Two individuals, later named Sean Ryan and Joseph LePore, ignited a torn paper banner from an exhibit wall in the third-floor lounge area. According to their account, the two men were under the influence of alcohol and decided to set the banner on fire as a joke, which would trigger smoke detectors and cause students to evacuate into weather conditions.