MISSION VIEJO – A fire in a Saddleback College lecture hall that resulted in the death of a 21-year-old student is suspected to have been the result of arson, officials said Tuesday.

But whether or not the student, or someone else, caused the fire in the college's Business and General Studies Building is a question still being explored by fire investigators, officials said.

"That's the million-dollar question," said Capt. Jon Muir of the Orange County Fire Authority. "Did he do it, or did someone else do it?"

The 21-year-old student suffered third-degree burns and was taken to Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo and then airlifted to Western Medical Center Santa Ana. Coroner officials said he has not been positively identified.

Saddleback College spokeswoman Jennie McCue said the man is a student at the college who was enrolled in a 7 a.m. Monday social psychology class in the lecture hall. He enrolled at Saddleback College in the spring of 2011 and had a GPA of 3.23, according to McCue.

The student died Monday night. Fire officials said he was the only person inside the third-floor classroom when the fire began.

On Tuesday morning, students continued to monitor news reports for clues as to who the 21-year-old student was.

In class, students were calling the incident, "sad, terrifying and scary," said Kelsy Asencio, 22, of Laguna Niguel.

Spanish instructor Connie Kinyet, who has worked at Saddleback College since 1985, said the faculty is in shock.

Kinyet teaches an 8 a.m. class on the floor where the fire broke out, and usually arrives an hour early to grade papers and meet with students, but firefighters had already blocked off the building when she arrived Monday morning.

"Some students asked me, 'Are we safe here on campus?' Absolutely," she said. "There's just a feeling of concern."

On Tuesday, officials released a statement on the college website saying classes would resume in the first floor of the Business and General Studies Building. The second and third floor of the building, however, will remain off-limits to students.

Fire officials were called to the college at 28000 Marguerite Parkway after receiving reports of smoke in the third floor of the building, Muir said. Initial reports Monday described the fire as coming from an air conditioning unit at 6:39 a.m.

Investigators with the Orange County Fire Authority suspect the fire was caused by arson and aided by some sort of accelerant, a substance used to feed the fire, Muir said.

When firefighters arrived to the building, the 21-year-old student was the only person in the third floor of the building, Muir said. Several students were in the first floor at the time, but they all exited when the fire was sparked.

The fire caused about $400,000 in damages, Muir said, including $200,000 in damage to the structure.

The Mission Viejo campus usually has about 40,000 students during the regular school year, McCue said. About 16,000 students are enrolled for the summer session, she said.

Related Links

Orange County Fire Authority trucks are positioned to fight the fire at Saddleback College on Monday. A student later died after suffering third-degree burns. SAM GANGWER, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
A firefighter with the Orange County Fire Agency climbs to the roof of the Business and General Studies building on the Saddleback College campus Monday morning. A student later died after suffering third-degree burns. SAM GANGWER, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Orange County Fire Authority units respond to a fire on the third floor of the Business and General Studies building on the Saddleback College campus Monday. SAM GANGWER, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Firefighters climb the outside stairwell of the Business and General Studies building Monday morning. SAM GANGWER, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
A lasser is extended to the top of the Business and General Studies building to reach the third floor fire. SAM GANGWER, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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