Officials Suspect Prank in Winthrop Fire

The Cambridge Fire Department's Arson Squad and Harvard Police are investigating a suspicious fire in Winthrop House that occured Thursday evening, police said yesterday.

The fire was reported at 6:22 p.m. when smoke emerged from the fifth-floor bathroom of Standish Hall C-Entry. Students in the seven-member suite quickly extinguished the fire, which caused no damage to the bathroom. Police found a pile of newspapers lying on top of a beer keg where the fire started, police said.

Cambridge Arson Squad Inspector Thomas C. Levins said there are no suspects yet, but refused to comment further.

Deputy Chief Jack W. Morse said that someone probably deliberately lit the newspapers on fire as a prank.

Arthur J. Merkin '85, who lives in the seven-member suite, said the problem was "cleared up" by yesterday afternoon.

According to Merkin, the police believed the fire was an arson because everyone in the suite was leaving by the time police and firemen arrived. The students either left for the football game at the University of Pennsylvania or went to classes, Merkin said.

In addition, the door to the suite was open, leading police to think that someone had entered the suite, set the fire, and fled.

Merkin said he thought the fire was accidental, and that after questioning the members of the suite, the police were satisfied that it was not a case of arson.

Rash of Larcenies

More than $4000 worth of belongings were stolen from Dunster and Kirkland Houses in the past week, Harvard Police said, giving these reports:

The biggest of the thefts reported to police took place in a room in the Dunster House G-Entry sometime between 8:30 and 9:15 a.m. on October 29. More than $3,500 worth of possessions were stolen, including two flutes, a piccolo, three cameras and a 14 karat gold locket.

Another Dunster student said thieves took assorted identification cards, three gold chains and a silver chain, valued at $60 sometime between October 10 and 21.

In Kirkland House, three 15 inch gold chains, valued at $250, were taken from a dresser top in the K-Entry between 9:00 and 10:00 a.m. on Friday.

There are no suspects and no evidence tying the incidents together, Deputy Chief Jack W. Morse said. Student carelessness led to the larcenies, Morse said, because all three rooms were unlocked.

A $250 Peuguot ten-speed was stolen from the second floor hallway of the Eliot House I Entry sometime between October 26 and 29. The bike was locked with a Kryptonite lock outside suite 1-21. The police have no suspects.

Undergraduate Assaulted

A gang of youths assaulted an unnamed undergraduate last Thursday night near the Anderson Bridge, police said. The victim was punched and hit on the back with a stick, and was taken to University Health Services for treatment of a head laceration and a concussion.

The Metropolitan District Police handled the incident, Morse said, but Harvard police assisted in the search for the suspects.