Blaze in Garbage Closet Evacuates Currier Residents

A fire in a fourth-floor trash closet sent students, babies and pet cats scurrying into the lobby of Currier House early this morning.

Police evacuated the building at 12:30 a.m., and barred students from re-entering Tuchman Tower, where the fire broke out, for more than an hour.

Although smoke filled the tower, police said none of the rooms near the blaze were damaged. Neither students nor officers would speculate on the cause of the fire.

Harvard Police Officer Robert Osborne said, "When we were up there, you couldn't see two feet in front of you" because of the smoke.

"My roommate came in and saw smoke, and she thought it was from the lights. Then she opened the garbage closet and saw the fire," said Millie Lanauze '88, whose room is adjacent to to the closet.

Raquel Ortiz, who opened the closet to discover the fire, said the damp garbage produced a large amount of smoke, but only a small blaze.