GREENSBORO, N.C. — This week marks 20 years since a prank at a student apartment complex turned deadly in Greensboro.
Janet Danahey, a UNCG student, set outside items on fire at a Campus Walk apartment. She said she was trying to get back at an ex-boyfriend. The fire spread to the entire building.
Four people, sisters Rachel and Donna Llewellyn, Elizabeth Harris and Ryan Bek, died, and many others were injured. It was the deadliest fire in Greensboro history when it happened.
David Douglas was the chief fire investigator when it happened. He said he thinks of it every year.
"I feel sad for the people who lost their kids," Douglas said. "I obviously always think about that but also for all the other people impacted, as a firefighter, how fire traumatizes people."
Danahey was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Former North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory commuted her sentence, giving her the chance for parole. She becomes eligible on January 1, 2029.
"I am not one of those who felt that Janet Danahey needed to have her sentence shortened, commuted or done early," Douglas said. "She just needs to serve her entire sentence because the people she impacted, especially those who died, have been impacted forever."
The building was demolished a few weeks after the fire at the request of Signature Property Group, the management company that owned the complex. Douglas said the building actually held up pretty well from the fire before it got torn down.
"This was not a building issue. This was a people event," Douglas said.
An apartment complex was rebuilt in 2005 in the place where Campus Walk used to stand. The company said they chose to exceed code safety requirements because they know what can happen.
Douglas said the fire changed the department. GFD now has more of a focus on critical incident stress debriefing to help firefighters process all they see on the job.