Tragedy struck at Doll’s House on the Tuesday of Re-O Week when the roof of the infamous flat was set on fire, having been shot with a series of fireworks. Police were quickly on the scene as the event transpired. It proved to be Campus Watch, however, who eventually stamped the fire out after considerable damage was done to the guttering and the iconic opening of the Doll’s House. To find out how it happened, Critic Te Ārohi had a chat with groups there who walked us through the details of the event’s random occurrence.
Like many good stories of love and betrayal, it started with a group of closely affiliated boys. Let's call them the Sharks*. Having consumed a hefty amount of alcohol and finding themselves stranded at Doll’s House, the Sharks were bored and looking for something to do. That’s when they happened upon a stash of what one resident, Alex, called “proper mega fireworks” that had been sitting dormant in Stables since the start of the year. Not ones for wasting an opportunity, the boys made their way over to Doll’s House armed with an assortment of pyrotechnic weaponry. Before lighting the fireworks, the group decided it would be a good idea to get even closer to the house, only realising the folly of their efforts after it was too late.
Speaking with candour, one resident of Doll’s House, Liv, told Critic, “This kind of thing has happened before.” She described how the boys, showing their expertise, “lit them using the oven” before coming outside to “throw it at the roof, pretty much.” Putting it down to being a “boy thing,” a supposed natural urge that one feels when you “want to blow something up,” the girls were pretty understanding of the Sharks’ actions. It seemed that the boys made up for the event by showing their love in other ways. Specifically, one member ended up coming back the next day with his tape measurer, trying to fix the mistake with nothing but his bare hands. You can’t really be mad at that kind of debonair.
Even the cops on the scene “didn’t really care,” according to another resident, Mayson. “They just talked a bit about rent prices and said, ‘Okay, sweet’ after it was all sorted.” The fire was only quelled after a member of Campus Watch (who happened to be an ex-firefighter) saw his moment and climbed up on the roof to engage in battle with the roaring flames. Though he was denounced by Doll’s House as being on an “ego-trip”, his work was nonetheless applauded by both residents and the police who were happy to celebrate the work of the spirited individual. Someone putting out a fire and being made the villain was “classic Castle”, said one.
Happy at the end of the day, the Doll’s House girls still managed to froth jovially as the week wore on, unbothered by their roof predicament. One of the Sharks agreed to pay the girls back and everyone left smiling, still buzzed at the obvious joy the event inspired. Critic Te Ārohi supposes that the landlord wasn’t quite so happy, but we’re sure he had a quiet chuckle at some point after.
*Name changed