Cigarette Sparks Fire in Quincy

A discarded cigarette likely set off a small fire in the C entryway of Quincy House on Friday evening, causing a flurry of activity on Plympton Street as four fire trucks and a resident tutor worked to extinguish the blaze.

According to Cambridge Fire Department Deputy Fire Chief John J. Cotter, firefighters responded to a fire alarm in Quincy at approximately 9 p.m. on Friday, after a fire erupted in garbage and leaves that had collected in a downstairs window well.

“It was a small fire in a window well, most likely caused by a discarded cigarette,” he said.

Cotter said that there was no substantial damage caused by the fire, and there were no injuries.

John McMillan, a resident tutor in Quincy’s C entryway, said that he was alerted of the fire by several students before grabbing a fire extinguisher and putting it out.

“Some people told me that there was a fire,” he said. “I hit the fire alarm, and used the fire extinguisher to put out the fire.”

McMillan said he was slightly fazed following his first time using a fire extinguisher or putting out a fire.

“It was a little bit freaky,” he said.

But Paul Barksdale, a Quincy House security guard who was also at the scene, said that McMillian acted swiftly in putting out the fire.

“I can’t say enough for John,” he said. “Right away he took the fire extinguisher and set it out.”

About 40 students stood outside throughout the ordeal, as Old Quincy was evacuated while the nearly 20 firefighters who responded made sure the building was safe.

Victoria E. Clark ’08, who lives on the fourth floor of Quincy’s C entryway, was in the shower when the fire alarm went off.

“The fire wasn’t too big, but you could smell the smoke on the fourth floor,” she said as she stood outside with a bathrobe under her jacket. “You could smell it through the fireplace.”

Harvard University Police Department (HUPD) Sergeant Robert Cooper, who was at the scene, said that HUPD responds any time a fire alarm is set off.

“You could see it burning,” he said. “There was a lot of smoke coming out.”

Barksdale said that similar fires could be prevented if smokers smoked farther from the building.

“The lesson from this is that you need to make sure that you’re away from the house when you’re smoking,” he said.

—Staff writer Reed B. Rayman can be reached at rrayman@fas.harvard.edu