A four-alarm fire broke out in Morton Hall in the East Wheelock housing cluster at 12:05 a.m. Saturday morning, according to a press release from the Hanover Fire Department Saturday.
There are no reported injuries, and the fire was reported extinguished in a 6:21 a.m. email to campus from Facilities Operations & Management. The fire was considered contained but not extinguished according to a 3:25 a.m. FO&M campus-wide email. An earlier 2:23 a.m. email requested that students avoid the East Wheelock cluster. Over two dozen fire fighters are on the scene from ten Upper Valley fire departments.
Firefighters broke through the window of Morton Hall around 1 a.m. in an effort to contain the fire.
East Wheelock assistant director Josiah Proietti said that McCulloch, Andres, Zimmerman and Morton were evacuated and at least 300 students were expected to be displaced Saturday night. By 3 a.m., students had reentered McCulloch.
Temporary housing has been made available for students, according to the email from FO&M. A residential life staff member said that students will most likely be relocated to Dick’s House, deans’ houses and potentially local hotels.
House Center A, behind the Topliff tennis courts, is being used as a meeting point for East Wheelock residents. At the center, residential life staff were checking names, if students have rooms to stay tonight and asking if students have necessary medications in their rooms.
Those with places to stay were asked to inform their undergraduate advisor, and housing will be arranged for the remaining students, Proietti said.
Sara McGahan, Priya Ramaiah, Annie Ma and Rebecca Asoulin contributed reporting.
