HMS Fire Still Under Investigation

Harvard Medical School (HMS) officials have still not released the details surrounding a Monday morning chemical spill that forced the evacuation of the Seely G. Mudd Building at 250 Longwood Ave. in Boston.

Members of the Boston Fire Department were evacuated the building at 9:30 a.m. and it remained off-limits until noon.

Students and staff were not allowed on the fourth floor, where the spill occurred in a laboratory refrigerator, until 5 p.m., about eight-and-a-half hours after the spill was reported, said Peta Gillyatt, a spokesperson for HMS.

No injuries were reported, according to Bill Schaller, another HMS spokesperson.

Officials are still working on a final report that will identify the chemicals that mixed when a number of small bottles shattered in the refrigerator.

"Everything was contained to the refrigerator," Schaller said.

According to a police report, faulty shelving within the refrigerator caused the bottles to break. HMS will wait for the final report before proposing measures to prevent future chemical spills, Schaller said.