After a February fire displaced residents for nearly a month and a half, members of the newly formed Tau Tau chapter of Tau Delta Phi fraternity are planning to move back into the 240 N. Burrowes Road house today.

Twenty-five members of Tau Delta Phi -- the former Phi Delta Theta and Phi Society -- hope to move back into the house following the installation of a dedicated phoneline that is scheduled to be set up today, said chapter president Ryan Lang.

"The house is the center-point of the fraternity," Lang (sophomore-political science) said.

The property is still the subject of a lawsuit between the university and the owners of the century-old house. Penn State is trying to purchase the it through a clause in the house's deed.

There were three steps in the house's restoration process, said house manager Tim Pawloski.

The first two involved renovations by contractors, who restored smoke- and water-damaged areas and rebuilt the penthouse where the fire began, Pawloski (junior-secondary education) said.

The last step was getting the house up to code -- a task that was primarily in the fraternity members' hands, Pawloski said.

The fraternity had a work weekend where alumni, family and friends came to help work on the house, he said.

"It's been an effort by all of the brothers, and everyone involved has a right to be proud of themselves," Pawloski said.

A house inspection on Wednesday resulted in a list of items to be fixed, including a nonfunctioning fire alarm in one of the bedrooms, said Sandy Deveney, a member of the house corporation's board of directors.

All that remains to be fixed now is the phone line, which is a hard-line between the main hallway alarm system and 911, Deveney said.

The phone line is linked to the alarm system and calls fire and police stations in the event of a fire, Pawloski said. This didn't happen during the fire in February, he said.

Once the line is functional, the members should be approved to move back in, Deveney said.

Social Chair Jon Halcovage said he has anticipated moving back into the house.

Along with the members, the fraternity's dog, Rigley, will be returning to the house.

"She's been living out with a couple of brothers, but we're really excited to have her back with all of us," Halcovage (sophomore-supply chain and information systems) said.

"We'll be reunited," Haslam (senior-sports broadcasting) said.

But even more important to Haslam is the idea of having to worry about one less thing: a roof over the fraternity members' heads.

"I always knew it was going to work out in the end," Haslam said. "We're fighters. We need to get over this one last hurdle and get back to business."