Half of Quincy House Fire Victims Will Go Back to Rooms Tomorrow

Half of the sixteen students whose suites were most heavily damaged in yesterday's Quincy House fire will be able to return to their bedrooms by tomorrow. Four others will be able to move back this week; but the four who lived in 601 and Mr. and Mrs. John F. Naylor, who lived in 600, won't be able to return until after Christmas.

Those without rooms are currently staying with friends. It has not yet been determined whether they will be able to find new quarters within the House.

Actual fire damage was limited to the sixth floor. The living rooms of three suites were totally gutted, another was blackened by smoke, and the Naylor suite suffered extensive fire and smoke damage.

Smoke and intense heat spread far down the sixth floor corridor, charring doors and blackening walls. All four bedrooms of suite 601 were singed and blackened by smoke and heat which billowed up from the living room of the suite, located on the floor below. Bedrooms of the other three suites escaped extensive damage either because they were located on the floor below the living room or because closed doors blocked the smoke and heat.

According to Cecil A. Roberts, Director of Buildings and Grounds and of the Planning Office, repairs will begin at once. Roberts, who worked with several university officials to get rehabilitation started, said that the Vappi Constructon Company would submit an estimate of repair costs to him this morning. "Just as soon as we can get the estimate approved, we'll give Vappi the go-ahead -- they'll start tomorrow or the next day," Roberts said. He estimated that final repairs will be completed in about six weeks.

Though the University carries no to cover the personal losses of Quincy students. Arthur D. Trottenberg '48. Assistant Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences for Resources and Planning said yesterday that no student should suffer heavy costs from the fire. Noting that many students would be covered by their parents' fire insurance policies, Trottenberg added that the University "would try to pull together funds to cover most of the losses of students with no insurance."

Soot and Cinders

B and G had over 40 men in Quincy all day yesterday to clean up the mess and close in the fire-damaged areas.

Immediately after the fire was controlled, the damaged area of the sixth floor had been a mucky mess of charred furniture, cinders, and ashes spread through a three-inch layer of water. Doors were charred or completely burned away; insulation and panelling had disappeared, leaving walls and ceilings of bare concrete; everything was blackened, the concrete still hot. The fifth floor was under several inches of water.

But by 7 a.m., long before the firemen had finished clearing out the damaged rooms, a crew from B and G had arrived and started balling out the water. By midday all the water was gone, and the muck mopped away. Electricity had been restored to all but the gutted rooms and the Rolling Stones blared out from suite 604.

By midafternoon, carpenters had installed plastic coverings over all but one of the broken windows and started installing temporary doors: maintanance men had restored heat: and the fire alarms were working again

Soot and Cinders

B and G had over 40 men in Quincy all day yesterday to clean up the mess and close in the fire-damaged areas.

Immediately after the fire was controlled, the damaged area of the sixth floor had been a mucky mess of charred furniture, cinders, and ashes spread through a three-inch layer of water. Doors were charred or completely burned away; insulation and panelling had disappeared, leaving walls and ceilings of bare concrete; everything was blackened, the concrete still hot. The fifth floor was under several inches of water.

But by 7 a.m., long before the firemen had finished clearing out the damaged rooms, a crew from B and G had arrived and started balling out the water. By midday all the water was gone, and the muck mopped away. Electricity had been restored to all but the gutted rooms and the Rolling Stones blared out from suite 604.

By midafternoon, carpenters had installed plastic coverings over all but one of the broken windows and started installing temporary doors: maintanance men had restored heat: and the fire alarms were working again