Administrators, Safety and Security officers and bonfire chairs collectively decided to increase the radius of the bonfire's safety zone from 60 to 80 feet this year due to safety concerns, according to Jeremy Brouillet '13, the bonfire build chair.
"People get burned just by being exposed [to the fire] during the run," Brouillet said. "[Last year], one student tripped and fell backwards into the burning ashes, got some stuck in his shoes, and had to go to the hospital."
The decision to increase the radius was made last year in an attempt to prevent future injuries as students run around the fire.
Safety and Security officials and police officers standing along the inner ring will monitor the fire closely to ensure the safety of all in attendance.
Students who give in to the demands of upperclassmen and attempt to "touch the fire" will be medically evacuated and subsequently arrested, Brouillet explained.
Along with the increased size of the safety zone, the actual wooden structure of the fire has also been altered.
"We're making [the numbers at the top of the bonfire] out of thicker wood so they don't flop around in the wind anymore," he said. "That was an issue last year."
To begin construction, a team of freshmen supervised by faculty members from the Thayer School of Engineering built the base, a thirty-three tiered star-shaped structure of beams laid on top of each other like a log house, Brouillet said.
A 22-tiered hexagonal shape sits on top of that, and a 10-tiered square-shaped figure comprises the summit of the bonfire.
Bonfire construction administrative coordinator Ken McClintock, along with other Thayer faculty members, designed the bonfire to collapse inward to prevent safety issues.
"Ever since the Texas A&M [University] disaster of 1999, everything's regulated," Brouillet said.
Twelve student builders were killed when Texas A&M's bonfire collapsed ten years ago. Since that tragedy, the College has focused on ensuring the safety of all students working on the Dartmouth bonfire, Mark Lancaster, sergeant at Safety and Security, told The Dartmouth in 2006.
"In the past, they would have students climb up the sides of the bonfire with wood strapped to their sides," Brouillet said. "Now, they'll be using a lull that lifts the wood so the big, long beams will be raised up to the top."
Construction began early Thursday morning, Oct. 22.
"As [the structure] gets higher, the number of students needed to help decreases," Brouillet said. "But we do want a good turnout of students."
Various College organizations can buy boards on the sides of the bonfire and decorate them as they wish, according to Brouillet.
"It will probably cost between 25 and 50 dollars [for each wood panel]," Brouillet said.
After construction is completed, Safety and Security will rope off the bonfire to guard the structure and ensure that students do not injure themselves.
Historically, students from peer institutions such as Harvard University have attempted to light the bonfire prior to Homecoming, Brouillet said.
Immediately following Homecoming each year, the College places an order for non-treated, pre-cut wood for the following year's bonfire, Brouillet said.
The center of the bonfire is composed of a type of wood known as fill, while dry-pine beams approximately eight feet long form the tiers.
To commemorate the freshman class, a six-foot tall wooden "13" will be placed above the last tier, finishing the bonfire.
"It used to be a much more haphazard event," Brouillet said, citing one occasion in 1971 when a local farmer donated wood from his barn to be burnt as fuel, he said.
Students went to what they believed was his property and burnt the wood they found inside. Another farmer reported to Hanover Police that his wood had been stolen two days later.
