The cause of the fire is still unknown; however, official investigations are still ongoing, as firefighters continue to work onsite.

The building accommodated 130 students of the Károli Gáspár Reformed Unversity, but many were not present at the time of the unfortunate event as they had travelled home to study for the exam period.

The leadership of the Danubian Reformed Church District called an emergency meeting at Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church in Hungary, and a press conference will be held today, 24 January, at 2:00 PM.

This morning, in a statement, Presiding Bishop István Szabó thanked the firefighters, who had arrived within 8 minutes of the first report of the fire, for doing everything in their capacity to stop it from spreading. He also thanked the policemen and the colleagues of the National Directorate General for Disaster Management.

He expressed special thanks to the mayor of the 9^th district of Budapest, János Bácskai, who immediately opened the nearby building of the local government for the students who had been evacuated into the cold weather. The colleagues of the local government stayed in there to help the students until dawn.

Bishop extended his thanks for the aid offered by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hungary, Hungarian Reformed Church Aid (HRCA), the Ecumenical Council of Churches in Hungary, pastors and congregation members, and all people of good will.

The Reformed dormitory on Ráday street is connected to the building of the Bishop’s office of the Danubian Church District. The building also includes the archives of the District, the Ráday Library, the Török Pál Library and the Bible Museum. 

Update on the Situation:

 

At the press conference held Thursday afternoon on the 24th of January, it was confirmed that no students were injured in the fire. The person who was found dead, however, was likely a guest staying in a guest room of the dormitory, the official identification is still in process.

 

The assessment on the damage is now taking place. Students will not be able to move back into the building for a long time.

 

Other universities and institutions have offered to help, providing accommodation for the students.

The Hungarian Government has also offered its help to the Church District to repair the building and other damages in the area.

 

The Hungarian Reformed Church Aid is accepting material donations for the students who have lost most of their valuables in the fire as well as monetary donations can be sent to the bank account of the University:

 

Account's owner name: Karoli Gaspar Reformatus Egyetem
IBAN: HU22 1170 5008 2049 2223 0000 0000
Bank's name: OTP Bank
Swift code: OTPVHUHB
Please add as comment: "tuzeset" (fire case in Hungarian)

 

The World Communion of Reformed Churches has also expressed its solidarity and shared a call for prayer after the devastating seminary fire.

Source: Reformatus.hu