Twice this morning students in the Field dorm were evacuated due to fire alarms. Field residents were informed in an email from Joseph Slade, the residence hall director for Field and Hopkins that “The fire appears to have been caused by a leak near the electrical system; as such, before the electrical system can be fully repaired, it must be thoroughly dried. To do so, our Facilities team will be bringing in fans and blowers designed to move large volumes of air”. No injuries or damages to student property were reported.
The students evacuated after the initial fire alarm, waited outside and then were allowed into the building. According to witnesses, a second fire alarm went off roughly ten minutes after students were let back into the building.
Residents were told they could tentatively plan on having power back in the building by 7 p.m. tonight. However, Nicole Leonard, academic adviser to the Honors Program, which all freshman living in Field are part of, did send out an email requesting that Honors Program upper-classmen offer up apartment or shower space for underclassmen who can’t get to their things.
Students reported first smelling smoke Wednesday Feb. 17 in the afternoon, although here are no reports of fire or electrical issues until Thursday morning. “”I was afraid my stuff was going to catch on fire, and that there were still people in the building because there had been two alarms,” said Amanda Lees, first-year INTA.