Blaze Guts Room In Dunster House

Firefighters evacuated Dunster House around 6 p.m. Saturday after a blaze broke out, gutting a C-entry common room, officials said yesterday.

No injuries were reported, and costs of damage were unavailable.

The exact cause of the fire is still under investigation, according to Inspector Paul Sheehan of the Cambridge Fire Investigation Department.

Sheehan said the fire started in a common room closet under some clothing.

Citing evidence from burn patterns, department officials speculated that the fire was accidental and had been smoldering for some time before the alarm went off and firefighters were notified.

Jonathan E. Schrag '92, one of the suite's occupants, said nothing valuable was lost in the fire.

"I'm thankful that neither myself nor my roommate that was here at the time was injured," said Schrag, who was out when the fire occurred.

Schrag said he will continue to sleep in his bedroom, since the flames did not affect adjacent rooms.

The ceiling of the suite was blackened by the smoke, paint was peeling off the walls, and the floor and the common room door had to be replaced.

Dunster House Master Karel F. Liem described the room as "absolutely a mess," with plastic from the light fixtures "completely melted." Since firefighters chiefly used chemical extinguishers, there was little water damage.

The room will be fixed within the week, with contractors replacing windows, fixtures, and a door, as well as painting over smoke-damaged areas, Liem said.

Andrej Benedejcic '93, whose room is situatedbeneath Schrag's, said he could smell smokeoutside the house, in the basement, in thehall-way and in his room. "We had to open thewindows. The stench was all over the place," headded.

Liem said that after he heard the fire alarm,he went out to the courtyard where he saw smokecoming out of the room.

`Real Fire'

"I realized this was a real fire," he said."There were five fire trucks, and they closed offMemorial Drive for a while."

Liem estimated that firefighters spentone-and-a-half hours in the building to ensure thefire was extinguished, adding, "They threw burningmaterial, like a door and a door frame out of thewindow."

"The fire was confined to the common room--itwas entirely destroyed," Liem said. "It was veryintense, very hot. I was really surprised [thefirefighters] contained the fire that well."

The fire was "quite a shock" to theself-described "nervous and anxious" Liem, but hewas pleased with the "rapid response" on the partof the fire department, house staff and students.

"Everyone reacted swiftly and intelligently, sothe fire was contained," said Liem. "I was veryglad there weren't many students around--theydon't listen to alarms."

Liem added, "It's one of those things we hopewill never happen, but did happen, and we'll tryto prevent more in the future.

Andrej Benedejcic '93, whose room is situatedbeneath Schrag's, said he could smell smokeoutside the house, in the basement, in thehall-way and in his room. "We had to open thewindows. The stench was all over the place," headded.

Liem said that after he heard the fire alarm,he went out to the courtyard where he saw smokecoming out of the room.

`Real Fire'

"I realized this was a real fire," he said."There were five fire trucks, and they closed offMemorial Drive for a while."

Liem estimated that firefighters spentone-and-a-half hours in the building to ensure thefire was extinguished, adding, "They threw burningmaterial, like a door and a door frame out of thewindow."

"The fire was confined to the common room--itwas entirely destroyed," Liem said. "It was veryintense, very hot. I was really surprised [thefirefighters] contained the fire that well."

The fire was "quite a shock" to theself-described "nervous and anxious" Liem, but hewas pleased with the "rapid response" on the partof the fire department, house staff and students.

"Everyone reacted swiftly and intelligently, sothe fire was contained," said Liem. "I was veryglad there weren't many students around--theydon't listen to alarms."

Liem added, "It's one of those things we hopewill never happen, but did happen, and we'll tryto prevent more in the future.