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Bonfires

The tradition of lighting bonfires on Franklin Street after big men's basketball wins began as early as the 1970s. At the sound of the final buzzer, students and fans rush to the intersection of Franklin and Columbia streets to celebrate.

After the 2009 NCAA men's basketball win, eight students were treated for serious burns at the N.C. Jaycee Burn Center. Chapel Hill fire Chief Dan Jones said the crowds have become so aggressive that putting out the fires becomes dangerous for firefighters.

After a tour of the burn center in fall 2009, Student Body President Jasmin Jones came out against the bonfires, offering plans for "safe celebrations" without the bonfires. Response from other student leaders and the campus has been mixed.

bonfires

Bonfire forum discusses alternatives
Melvin Backman
01/28/2010
Bruce Cairns speaks with students, administrators and police officers Wednesday. DTHShar Narne Flowers

Of the two major suggestions proposed Wednesday night to counteract the Franklin Street bonfire tradition, one was actually another bonfire.

The forum, held with the goal of devising an alternative to celebratory bonfires in time for the Feb. 10 game against Duke, was an extension of the ideas that Student Body President Jasmin Jones has advocated this school year.
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Duke, N.C. State ahead in regulating bonfires
Sam Jacobson
10/28/2009
Other universities have dictated when students can and cannot have bonfires. Courtesy of Chase Olivieri for The Chronicler

UNC isn’t the only school concerned about the safety of its post-game celebrations.

Duke and N.C. State universities have enacted policies that dictate when students can and cannot have bonfires before and after major sporting events.
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Burned student still recovering
Lauren Cloninger
10/19/2009

Junior Andrew Madlon felt like most UNC students last year after the men’s basketball victory against Villanova in the Final Four: elated, excited and ready to celebrate on Franklin Street.

But Madlon came away with what he described as the worst memory of his college years. He fell into a fire that inflicted second- and third-degree burns to about five inches of his right arm.
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Colleges go crazy for big athletic wins
Seth Cline
10/19/2009

UNC is not alone in its passion for collegiate sports. Campuses across the country find their own ways to rejoice or agonize over big sports events.
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Dangerous ‘tradition’ under fire
Anika Anand and Emily Banks
10/19/2009
A students feet as he jumps over a Franklin Street bonfire. DTH file/Andrew Johnson

Due to an editing error, two photo captions with this story misstated when junior Andrew Madlon and eight students were hospitalized with burns. The burns occurred following basketball wins on April 4 and April 6. The Daily Tar Heel apologizes for the errors.
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Extinguishing bonfires divides student opinion
Jordan Graham
10/05/2009

Student leaders have voiced conflicting opinions about the feasibility and necessity of ending celebratory bonfires, and this lack of consensus seems to be reflected in student thought.

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Leaders are not ‘anti-bonfire’
Emily Banks
10/05/2009

Due to a reporting error, this story misstated the relationship between Carolina Athletic Association and Carolina Fever, which is an independent student fan group. The Daily Tar Heel apologizes for the error.
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Jones: No celebratory fires
Emily Banks
09/28/2009

Student Body President Jasmin Jones has been saying for a while that basketball celebrations on Franklin Street need to change.

But after a visit to the N.C. Jaycee Burn Center on Friday, there was no doubt in her mind that celebratory bonfires have to go.
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Faculty seek to curb bonfires
Kevin Kiley
02/20/2007

Franklin Street bonfires are a staple of victory celebrations, but some UNC faculty members want to extinguish the practice.

The Faculty Council unanimously passed a resolution Friday that encourages reform of the fiery celebration rituals, noting that the flames often cause severe injuries.
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