Fire Chief Blames South House Fire On Wire Overload

A fire broke out at about 11 a.m. yesterday in a fourth-floor room in Bernard hall, South House, causing considerable damage to the room and minor damage to rooms below.

The fourth-floor room of Debora R. Klonsky '76 was damaged by flames sooot, and water from the sprinkler system. Firemen, looking for the source of the blaze, knocked out one window and chopped holes in two walls.

David D. Hiller '75 and Bradley D. Simon '78, occupants of the third-floor and second-floor rooms below Klonsky's, said that there had been water leakage into their rooms, but both said the damage was light.

Deputy Chief Andrew R. Murphy of the Cambridge Fire Department said he thought the fire was electrical is origin and was probably caused by overloading of the circuits with appliances.

"Wiring does wear as a result of use and abuse," he said. "There were a lot of appliances in that room."

Kionsky said that she had left her room and gone to another about tan minutes before the fire alarm went off.

She said that she had had her stereo on and plugged into the same outlet as her refrigerator, but that the outlet was across the room from where the fire broke out.