Fire Inspectors Find Fault With Dunster Grill

Dunster House officials this week requested that the house's student-run grill stop using its griddle and deep fryer due to violations of the state and local fire code.

The prohibition comes in the wake of fire inspections which were carried out in several houses over spring break. Cambridge fire officials determined that the grill must install a nearby fire alarm, which would be incorporated into Dunster House's alarm system, said L. Cameron Kitchin '92, the grill's manager.

Kitchin said the house office informed him of the fire code violation Wednesday morning in a written memo dated March 21. The cost of installing the alarm was estimated to be $2500 by the house office, Kitchin said.

Although items prepared using the grill and deep fryer supply the bulk of its business, the grill can still sell microwaved and chilled goods, employees said.

Kitchin said that Dunster Superintendent James Hayes had told him that the house would try to obtain emergency funding from the University to cover the cost of the fire alarm. Hayes was on vacation and was unavailable for comment yesterday.

"The impression I've been given is that [the installation of the fire alarm] is going to happen, but I have not been told very much," Kitchin said.

Robert L. Mortimer, associate director for building services, said the schedule for any such work would be determined next week.