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Bret Bielema recounts Memorial Stadium fire, gives all clear for Week 6

Paul Harvey

By Paul Harvey

Published:

Bret Bielema and Illinois dealt with an emergency as Memorial Stadium had a fire breakout Tuesday evening. That fire was a bit too close to comfort for the head coach who was still in his office studying film.

In a Wednesday media session, Bielema thanked the emergency personnel that arrived on site to handle the fire. He also noted he first heard about the fire via a text from his wife.

“First off, want to say thank you to the fire department and everybody who responded last night,” said Bielema. “I was literally in my office watching special team cut-ups, and my wife texted me and said ‘Hey there’s an address that says there’s a fire kind of close to the stadium.’

“I looked out my window, I had all my shades up and said ‘There ain’t nothing going on here, I don’t know what you’re talking about.’ Literally, a minute later our chief of staff comes running in… I looked out and saw those firetrucks.”

Fortunately, the situation was taken care of without escalating. Bielema also said Memorial Stadium should be good to go for Friday night’s game vs. Nebraska.

“Thank you to everybody that responded last night. I think it was just one vehicle that caught on fire but amongst a bunch of others underneath the stadium,” Bielema explained. “So everything’s good to go, everything will happen on Friday.”

Paul Harvey

Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.