A somber anniversary greets the SIUC campus this weekend, as Carbondale faces the fifth anniversary of The Pyramids apartment complex fire.

And this weekend highlights how much we all have to learn from that tragedy.

SIUC students Kimiko Ajioka, Ronald Moy, Lai Hung Tam, Mazlina Abdul Wahid and Cheng Teck Wong died as a result of the Dec. 6, 1992, arson fire at The Pyramids, 504 S. Rawlings St.

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That fire also left eight other students injured many from jumping out of windows because of a lack of fire escapes in the building. In addition, the fire left more than 30 students without homes.

Carbondale Police announced Thursday they have a suspect in the arson, which shows they have not forgotten about the case. But what about the rest of us? How are we served by remembering this awful event?

This tragedy forever changed the lives of a number of SIUC students. Only days before, these students probably were making plans to study for their final exams and visit relatives over winter break.

Such plans are familiar to many of us, as we may already have done likewise. Unfortunately for those students who so disconcertingly are like us tragedy had made other plans for them.

Today, The Pyramids now known as Ambassador Apartments are under new ownership. Located near campus, a number of SIUC students live in the building. Other students and community members pass by the quiet complex everyday.

But remembering the holiday-season tragedy occurring there just a short five years ago may be difficult for those people to do. It may be just as difficult for us all.

That difficulty may be attributed to a number of reasons. The Pyramids apartments primarily housed international students, and many survivors of the fire may have graduated or returned to their homelands. Those residents and neighbors remaining in the Carbondale area may be loathe to relive such a terrifying experience. Without the headlines and news reports in the media accompanying the original event, many of us just may not recall the tragedy.

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And it is here that we find the true meaning of somber anniversaries. These recurring events should serve to spur us into action in two sorely needed ways. We are goaded to remember the original tragedy, and we are inspired by that event to take steps to ensure that it does not happen again.

The International Student Council and other groups have taken steps to aid the first purpose, as a meeting about commemorating the five-year-old tragedy is planned for tonight. Wan Kamal Wan Napi, ISC president, plans to ask Undergraduate Student Government and administrators to support an annual memorial service.

These events serve well in accompanying the memorial statue and tree that were placed near Campus Lake almost three years ago.

The second purpose rests in all of our hands, as we all should check the safety of our living conditions to avoid a similar tragedy. Take time to check fire alarms to make sure they are in working condition. Use weekend funds to purchase a fire extinguisher for your homes. Work with landlords to design efficient fire escape routes from apartment buildings as well as reacquaint yourselves with the location of fire escapes. If a high-unit, multi-storied building does not have one, that poses a possible threat.

If SIUC students or community members were not in Carbondale Dec. 6, 1992, or even if you were here, and do remember the city’s worst fire catastrophe then make sure that you do remember the SIUC students who lost their lives. Honor their memory by protecting yourselves and others from suffering in a similar way.

This is the very least that we all can do for those students and their families this anniversary, and for future anniversaries to come.