Small Fire Breaks Out Between Kirkland and Eliot

A Harvard University Police Department officer stands in front of Eliot House as the Cambridge Fire Department responds to an electrical fire on Monday evening. By Melanie Y. Fu

UPDATED: September 14, 2015, at 11:57 p.m.

Students briefly evacuated Kirkland and Eliot Houses on Monday evening after a small electrical fire broke out in a walk-in refrigerator between the Houses’ dining halls, according to Sergeant Daniel Brown of Harvard police.

The fire broke out around 6:45 p.m., triggering fire alarms in Kirkland. Shortly after, students were evacuated from both houses.

Dawn Loggins ’16, an Eliot resident who was in the dining hall at the time of the evacuation, said the fire alarm was initially met with uncertainty. Students had gathered there eating dinner, she said, when a kitchen staff member called for them to leave.

“On the way out you could see smoke coming from the kitchens,” Loggins said.

The Cambridge Fire Department responded “within five minutes,” according to Aditya N. Prasad ’17, a Kirkland resident.

For some students, the fire posed a temporary distraction to Monday night plans.

“I have a problem set that I have to get done,” Shaan K. Erickson ’17 said.

Students from Eliot and Kirkland Houses watch as the Cambridge Fire Department responds to a fire Monday evening. By Melanie Y. Fu

“So do I. I ran up and got my work,” Prasad added.

Colin D. Criss ’17, who was sitting on the porch in the Eliot courtyard, said he enjoyed watching the fire trucks at work.

“I love fire trucks,” said Criss, who added that he frequently watches firefighters at work in his home state of New York. “Hopefully the kitchen is okay.”

Students could re-enter Kirkland and Eliot at about 7:50 p.m., when they could briefly return to the dining halls.

Both affected dining halls, however, will be closed Tuesday for cleaning, according to Winthrop House administrator Heather Grant, who emailed Winthrop residents warning them that their dining hall might be more crowded.

—Staff writer Melanie Y. Fu can be reached at melanie.fu@thecrimson.com. Follow her on Twitter @MelanieYFu.

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:

CORRECTION: September 14, 2015

An earlier version of this article misstated Colin Criss's home state. In fact, he is from New York, not Pennsylvania.