In the wake of the apartment fire on Carroll Street Saturday, Dean of Students Lori Berquam said displaced UW-Madison students have received close to $5000 from UW-Madison’s Student Crisis Loan Fund.

Berquam and Associate Dean of Students Argyle Wade informed students at the scene they could borrow money from the fund to help cover costs of items destroyed in the fire.

According to Berquam, the purpose of the fund is to help students who are “really and truly” in a crisis situation.

“It could be an apartment fire, it could be someone who needs to move apartments because they are in a dating domestic violence situation, it could be a student whose car is broken down and they need to get it fixed to be able to go to work,” she said.

A former dean of students started the fund, which receives donations from several student organizations, about 30 years ago, according to Berquam.

Chelsea Brieman, a UW-Madison senior and resident of the affected building, said via e-mail she found wet clothes, textbooks and a DVD player when she was allowed to see her apartment Sunday.

She said some people received checks on Saturday morning to cover the costs of food, lodging and immediate necessities for the weekend.

“I’m going to wait to get a check before I find out what costs I’ve racked up by having to stay in several different locations and not really having access to the food in my refrigerator,” Brieman said.

Students can fill out a form to receive a crisis loan at any time, Berquam said, and typically receive as much money as they need.

She added if the amount exceeds $500, a special approval process is necessary.

While some students can pay the money back in a month, Berquam said, others have to wait a year, and some even wait until after they graduate.

“In some of those cases, they may even pay us back more than what they originally were loaned because they appreciated the support of the crisis loan,” she said.

Students affected by the fire who have yet to apply for a crisis loan can find information at http://www.wisc.edu/students/saja/crisis.htmml.