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Residents of Hancock Hall were evacuated from the building Tuesday after a dryer in the basement caught on fire.
The apparent cause of the fire was an overloaded dryer, according to University of Maine Public Safety Chief Noel March. He said an investigation would be conducted by the fire department to determine the exact origin.
A student fire marshal was the first to respond to the basement floor utility room and expend a fire extinguisher.
Jeremey Gagne, a third-year Electrical Engineering Technology major, was treated and released at St. Joseph’s Hospital for smoke inhalation.
Gagne was in his third floor Hancock Hall dorm room when he saw the smoke from the fire. He said he went down to the lobby of the residence hall before the fire alarm went off. While in the lobby, Gagne said he looked at the alarm panel and saw that numerous alarms were going off. He said he went toward the utility room where the alarms and smoke were coming from. He noted the hallway was filled with smoke.
Gagne said he saw flames in the back corner of the basement utility room and attempted to extinguish the flames.
“I grabbed the fire extinguisher and discharged it,” Gagne.
He said the sprinkler system turned on after he used the fire extinguisher. He grabbed a second extinguisher in the kitchen that he used through vents from the outside of the building. Gagne said he alerted his captain, as the firefighters were departing from the Orono Fire Department, and other departments were dispatched.
“A number of steps fell into place, as we would expect they would,” March said.
Dispatched at about 1:30 p.m., the Orono Fire Department was on scene at the fire and they were assisted by firefighters from Old Town and paramedics from University Volunteer Ambulance Corps.
March said the residents of Hancock Hall were sent to Wells Commons until it was safe to re-enter the building. He said custodial staff had to complete clean-up and air quality tests had to be conducted before students were able to return to the residence hall.
March said the fire, as well as smoke and water damage, was localized, but there was heavy smoke on the ground, first and second floors.
In May of 2000, a serious fire in Hancock Hall displaced more than 230 students.
“I think if I hadn’t gotten down to knock it down first, it could have been a repeat [of the Spring 2000 fire]” Gagne.
Gagne and March both agreed that the sprinklers installed in the resident hall after the 2000 fire prevented more damage.
“We were lucky,” Gagne said.
Bangor Daily News