Fire occurs in Heller, building evacuated
A fire broke out yesterday at approximately 10 a.m. in the Schneider building, which houses the Heller School for Social Policy and Management, on Oct. 18, and the entire building was evacuated. Classes resumed in the building by 12:30 that afternoon, according to a campuswide e-mail from Senior Vice President for Administration Mark Collins.In an interview with the Justice, Dean of the Heller School Lisa Lynch said that the building's warning system went off at approximately 10 a.m.
"We had the building emptied out within a minute," said Lynch, adding that "it certainly didn't hurt the evacuation efforts when people saw flames outside the building."
Director of Public Safety Ed Callahan said in a phone interview with the Justice that the cause of the fire has not yet been determined, and that the Waltham Fire Department is currently investigating possible origins of the blaze.
"The fire department will determine the origin of the fire," said Callahan. Callahan also said that he was not aware of any injuries occurring during the incident.
In an e-mail to the Justice, Collins wrote that as of Monday night, the cause of the fire was still undetermined.
The occupants of Schneider were relocated to the Usdan Student Center following the incident until the building was reopened at 12:30 p.m.
Ikenna Momah (GRAD), a student at the Heller School who was evacuated, said that he was in class when he was told to evacuate the building and leave from the nearest exit.
"We saw the smoke outside on the exit," said Momah.
Momah also expressed satisfaction with the administrative handling of the incident and said he felt he was given adequate warning of the fire.
"I think it was a good method because the voice was calm and reassuring; they put so much trust in us to leave," he said.
Prof. Jeffrey Prottas (Heller) said in an interview with the Justice that "the alarm went off saying there was some sort of emergency." Prottas further explained that when he walked outside he could see there were flames on the back patio right around the wall."
Lynch said that a set of windows had to be replaced but that the building was fully accessible, and the fire did not drastically disrupt the daily routine.
"Everything is back and running," she said.
Collins wrote in an e-mail to the Justice that the damage occurred in the connecting area of between the old Heller building and the new Schneider building. He explained that while no official cost has been determined, he would estimate the cost of the damage at to be approximately $25,000 to $50,000, and that he expected the building to be fully operational by today.
"There will be repairs, such as glass replacement, and replacement of some walls and ceilings that will be completed in the next couple of weeks," Collins wrote.
-Fiona Lockyer, Harry Shipps and Brian Fromm contributed reporting.
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