On Friday morning, the Hanover Fire Department responded to a fire on the eighth floor of the Remsen Medical Science Building, according to Hanover fire chief Michael Gilbert.
The floor of the Geisel School of Medicine building — a mechanical and maintenance floor with no classrooms or offices — sustained “minor” smoke and fire damage and water damage between the third and eighth floors, Gilbert said. No one was injured, Geisel Dean Duane Compton added in a community statement posted on the Geisel website.
“The reason [the fire] wasn’t more significant is because of the early detection of the fire system,” Gilbert said.
According to Gilbert, a sprinkler head contained the fire to “a single room” until authorities could arrive. After discovering the smoke and fire, the Hanover Fire Department called the Lebanon and Hartford Fire Departments for support, Gilbert said. Firefighters connected a hose to the building’s standpipe system to extinguish the flames, he explained.
The Lyme Fire Department was also dispatched to “cover” the Hanover station while its firefighters responded at Remsen, he added.In total, approximately 20 firefighters were dispatched.
All safety systems have now been restored to the building, while the air handling system is helping clear residual smoke, Compton wrote.
This is the second fire reported in Remsen in the past two years. In February 2023, a fire in an occupied lab caused “significant” smoke and water damage. Compton wrote that the “overall damage” of today’s fire was “far less” than the previous fire.
While the fire’s cause is under investigation, Gilbert said it does not appear “suspicious in nature.”
The building is closed to all personnel until 8 a.m. on Monday, according to Compton. However, Department of Safety and Security staff are available to help individuals retrieve their belongings before Monday.
