FIRE CLOSES MEDICAL SCIENCE BUILDING

The Remsen Medical Sciences Building is closed following a fire Sunday morning in a seventh-floor laboratory.

Access to the adjoining Kellogg Hall and Vail Research building will resume for research and education functions on Monday. Vail is closed on Sunday while the situation is being assessed.

The fire was contained to the Remsen lab and set off the building’s sprinkler system in the vicinity of the fire. The Hanover Fire Department received an automated fire alarm call just after 7 a.m., and firefighters were on the scene moments later. No one was injured in the incident.

The cause of the fire is unknown and under investigation by Hanover fire officials, who have remained on the scene. Dartmouth has also had a team on site all day, assessing damage to Remsen.

Remsen sustained fire and water damage in the lab, and substantial water damage throughout the rest of the structure, according to Hanover fire and Dartmouth officials. Kellogg and Vail were not damaged.

“We are grateful to Hanover firefighters for their quick response and their ability to keep the fire from spreading,” says Geisel School of Medicine Dean Duane Compton. “Remsen will be closed to permit timely cleanup and repairs. We can’t allow people back into the building until we can do so safely. We are assessing the damage, in concert with Hanover fire officials, and we are working to restore access as soon as possible.”

Remsen, an eight-story building located off College Street, sits between Anonymous and Kellogg halls. Remsen and Vail together cover 187,000 square feet and are among the largest facilities on campus. Remsen is a multifunctional building that supports education programs for Geisel medical students and research programs that involve students from the Guarini School of Graduate and Advanced Studies as well as Dartmouth undergraduates.

Compton’s office contacted faculty, staff, and students who use Remsen, sending an email in the morning alerting them that there had been a fire and Remsen was closed. Remsen contains laboratories, classrooms, offices, conference and study rooms, and other spaces. The lab where the fire occurred is used for circadian rhythms research.

Fire departments from Lebanon, Hartford, Norwich, Lyme, and Canaan assisted Hanover firefighters.