On a chilly December night five years ago, Wan Kamal Wan Napi was awakened by a phone call that sent him rushing to the site of a devastating fire that killed five students, one of whom was his best friend.

Wan Napi witnessed a scene of chaos when he arrived at The Pyramids apartment complex, 504 S. Rawlings St., at about 2 a.m. on Dec. 6, 1992.

The smoke was coming out of the building, and everybody was running away, said Wan Napi, International Student Council president. Everybody was crying. I saw two or three people jump from the second floor.

In what has been described as the worst fire catastrophe ever in Carbondale, five students were killed, six were hospitalized some with serious injuries and two were treated and released.

Most of the injuries were caused by smoke inhalation and residents jumping to the ground to escape the flames and smoke of the building, which primarily housed international students.

The smoke, which spread rapidly throughout the building, dazed many of the residents. Four of the dead students were found in positions indicating they were trying to reach the windows before they were overcome by the smoke.

The Fire Department arrived on the scene shortly after receiving a call from an automatic alarm at 1:27 a.m.

More than 30 of the 44 residents were left homeless by the blaze, which was contained to the second and third floors and took a little more than an hour to defeat.

The blaze was ruled arson by investigators, who said the building was up to city code. In the five years since the fire, no arrests have been made, and police will not comment on a possible motive.

Wan Napi’s friend, Mazlina Abdul Wahid, was pronounced brain dead the morning of the fire and died the next day. Wan Napi saw her carried out of the burning building by a firefighter.

She was unconscious, and she had no burns, so I didn’t think it was that serious, he recalled. I thought she was only unconscious because of the smoke.

Wan Napi was one of about 60 Malaysian students who went to Belleville Memorial Hospital to await word on the condition of Wahid, who was 28 and a freshman in vocational education studies from Malaysia.

Wahid, a member of International Student Council, was treasurer of the Malaysian Student Association.

When she first came here, she was very shy and quiet, Wan Napi said. I decided to ask her to join (ISC) so she could make friends. She ended up being very outgoing.

Wahid was a tutor for an exclusive private school in Malaysia for several years before coming to SIUC.

Wahid’s friends from SIUC and several other concerned strangers from St. Louis University and the University of Missouri at St. Louis prayed together in the hospital, saying a last rites prayer so her soul would leave her body in peace.

Wan Napi called Wahid’s parents in Malaysia to tell them of the fire.

Her parents were very calm. They said, Thank you,’ and asked me to take care of her and said they depended on us, he said. We said we’d do everything we can.

Wahid’s parents, who could not afford the trip to be at their daughter’s bedside, agreed to terminate her life support after speaking with doctors and an attorney.

We were just quiet and didn’t know what to do, Wan Napi said. We realized it was God’s way.

Wan Napi said he feels somewhat guilty about Wahid’s death, because she was supposed to have participated in the Lights Fantastic Parade, which ended several hours prior to the fire.

Every time I see a parade, I think of her, he said. I decided not to let her be in the parade [with other ISC members] because she was very skinny, and I didn’t want her to get sick.

We all went out after the parade and didn’t get back until 1 a.m. I wonder if she would have been in the parade if she would have been awake when the fire started [at 1:27 a.m.] and if she could have gotten out.

The fire also seriously injured Simona Dimitrova, who suffered a broken pelvis and ankle, a fractured jaw, internal injuries and several broken teeth. Dimitrova, now a Ph.D. student in engineering science, did not want to discuss the incident.

Dimitrova is one of five survivors suing the buildings’ past and present owners and mangers. She is represented by Carbondale attorney John D. Alleman.

She’s a remarkable young lady who’s been determined not to let this terrible accident dissuade her from being productive and having a good life, Alleman said. She still suffers she will require hip replacement in the future and walks with a significant limp because her one leg is shorter than the other.

Alleman also is representing Gergana Zlaveta, who suffered a broken wrist and a skull fracture. Her teeth were knocked out, and she has sinus and breathing problems. Zlaveta now lives in New York.

She jumped from a third-floor building onto a concrete pad and struck her head on the concrete, Alleman said.

SIUC Chancellor Donald Beggs was dean of the College of Education at the time of the fire.

It occurred the night of the Lights Fantastic Parade, and my family and I left the parade feeling good about the holiday time, Beggs said. The next morning we heard what had happened, and it sure changed my feeling about the holiday.

Beggs said the memorial service that drew hundreds of mourners to Shryock Auditorium later that week was one of the most dignified services he ever has attended.

Some of my friends told me the appropriate way to show dignity was to leave as orderly and as quietly as possible, he said. I’ll always remember the sobbing of what I assumed to be the relative and what an empty feeling I had in terms of what I could do to help the person.

In 1994, a memorial was erected at the boat docks near Campus Lake. It was paid for by ISC, Undergraduate Student Government, Graduate and Professional Student Council and some SIUC administrators.

The memorial states:The world will never know what their young lives could have given. May time ease our grief into passion for making this world more peaceful for all its people.

Wan Napi would like SIUC to have an organized memorial service every year for the victims.

A monument can’t speak by itself, said Wan Napi, a graduate student in political science from Malaysia. We want to organize something very meaningful so the old and new students realize there was a tragedy.

ISC sends letters to the families every year on the anniversary of the fire.

Her (Wahid’s) parents are always asking my mother and me, Do you know who did it?’ Wan Napi said. But there’s nothing for me to say.

She was a Muslim, and her parents believe whoever did it will be judged. Her parents are so nice. They don’t want to pressure the police or sue. I believe and support the police. I know it’s not an easy problem to be solved, and it’s a very complicated issue.

At ISC’s meeting at 6 tonight in the Kaskaskia Room in the Student Center, Wan Napi plans to propose that the University have ceremonies every year in memory of the students. He plans to send a memo about such a proposal to USG and the administration.

I’ve noticed that after two years, nobody knows or remembers anything, he said. And it’s important for new students to be aware of safety issues. I’m not saying that Carbondale has high crime, but we can be aware as a community. And we should always remember this tragedy.