Thanksgiving Day Fire Engulfs Shed at ITT

A fire broke out at the Albert H. Gordon Track and Tennis Center (ITT) on Thanksgiving Day, damaging the exterior of the building and charring some stored maintenance equipment, according to the Harvard police.

The police reported there were no injuries and only minor damage to the building, although no official cost estimate has been given.

Because of Thanksgiving break, officials from the maintenance department, the Boston Fire Department and the athletic office could not be reached for comment yesterday.

According to the police account, a witness called the station at 4:13 p.m. Thursday to report the fire, which engulfed maintenance equipment, including lawn mowers, tractors, aerators and sprinklers stored in the area.

The fire burned a field equipment storage center that cuts into the side of the ITT, which faces Bright Hockey Center. The fire destroyed the wooden section of a security fence which protects the storage center.

Yesterday, the ITT wall and lawn equipment near the wooden fence were still covered with soot. But the fire apparantly did not extend through the entire storage center since most of the fence is metal chain link.

The fire department responded to the call and extinguished the blaze with no complications.

Among the ashes at the scene were a number of beer bottles and pie tins. The front tire of one of the tractors was flat and melted onto the rim.

The police report stated that the fire was not believed to be of a suspicious origin. Police records give no reason for how the fire started.

There is no investigation currently planned by Harvard police, an officer at the police headquarters said yesterday.