Four fire departments on scene for fire in New Hampshire residential hall

by Grace Bradstreet

A fire broke out in the laundry room of the New Hampshire residential hall around 8:15 Friday morning.

(Photo: Alex Wakai)

According to a Facebook post from the Rindge Fire Department, the fire was started in a dryer.

The automatic fire alarms went off and the sprinklers turned on, which contained the fire in the laundry room.

Crews from four other fire departments arrived on campus to be prepared in case the university’s or the town of Rindge’s fire departments needed any assistance.

Students were evacuated from the residential hall shortly after the alarm first went off and could not return to the building until 2 p.m.

“The school did a good job getting everyone out, but they should’ve sent out an email telling us where to shelter earlier in the day,” Alexi Edo a freshman living in New Hampshire hall said through an email interview. “I had a friend who was in the shower when the alarms went off who had to sit in her towel until 2 p.m. that day without knowing where the school was sheltering people.”

“It was very difficult not being able to be in my dorm all day, especially when I had classes on Zoom that I had to attend,” said freshman Samantha Landona in an in-person interview.

There was thick smoke around the area of the fire and it could be smelt throughout the building, even after students were allowed to return to their dorms.

A company was hired to clean the affected area and to repair any damages.

No students were injured in the fire.