Fire Displaces HBS Students HBS

A fire broke out in a dormitory at Harvard Business School Thursday afternoon, causing an estimated $100,000 dollars in damage and displacing 83 students just days before final exams begin. According to a fire department spokesman, one firefighter was treated and released from the hospital with a shoulder injury, but no students were hurt.

Firefighters were dispatched to the scene at 2:14 p.m. Thursday, after hot exhaust from a generator escaped from a ventilation system and ignited insulation in the attic of McCulloch Hall, according to Boston Fire Department Spokesman Steve MacDonald. He said that roughly 35 firefighters responded and noted that the building’s sprinkler system was activated.

The students who live in the affected building—located on the east end of the HBS campus—are being temporarily housed in a dorm usually used for the Business School’s executive education program, which is currently out of session, according to HBS Spokesman Brian C. Kenny.

No external damage to the building was visible Friday afternoon, but some students who have been inside said damage appeared extensive in places.

“My room was the last room that was accessible,” said Dominic A. Charles, who entered the building to retrieve belongings Thursday. “The ceiling outside my friend’s room had just completely collapsed in the hallway.”

Students living in other parts of the building said the only damage they noticed ranged from waterlogged carpets to a “smoky smell.”

Kenny said that all students’ rooms were accessible by Friday afternoon. Around 3 p.m. on Friday, a few students were lined up to enter the building, escorted by maintenance workers in hard hats.

About two-thirds of the building’s residents should be able to return to their rooms by the middle of next week, Kenny said. Others who live in more severely affected parts of the building will not be able to return until January, after repair work is completed.

Kenny added that the school has given money to a few students whose belongings may have been ruined so that they can purchase necessities.

Amar Kumar, a student who lives in the building, complimented the HBS administration for their quick response to the fire. “They’ve been very communicative,” he said.

Kenny said that school officials believe that their response was effective, and that they are grateful for the positive outcome.

“We’re just glad there were no life-threatening injuries to anybody,” Kenny said. “It could’ve been much, much worse.”

—Staff writer William N. White can be reached at wwhite@fas.harvard.edu.