Cleanup continues at Chemistry Building

On Monday, workers continued cleanup at Western’s Karen W. Morse Hall (Chemistry Building), where a fire occurred on Aug. 25.

The fire, which was confined to a lab on the third floor of the Chemistry Building, led to an evacuation of the building. Sprinklers in the building put out the fire. No injuries have been reported.

The university has hired emergency recovery and restoration contractor Belfor. A crew from Belfor arrived on campus Wednesday and since then has worked closely with university personnel to assess, clean up and restore damage to the building. Good progress is being made in those efforts, which continued over the weekend. Personal property in the building is being returned to faculty and students.

The building remains closed until further notice. It is too soon to conclude exactly when the building will reopen; however, planning is under way for reoccupation of the building.

Safety for faculty, staff and students has been and continues to be the top priority as cleanup and restoration is planned and completed.

The third-floor lab where the fire took place had fire, smoke and water damage, with water and smoke damage in other areas of the third floor. Water damage occurred in lower floors. The Fire Marshal said the fire was caused by an accidental spill of flammable liquid.

The Chemistry Department front office has been moved College Hall 09, the Honors Center, and Chemistry Department faculty and student staff also are being temporarily relocated on campus while the Chemistry building is being restored for occupancy.

Counseling services are available to students and staff affected by the fire. For students, the Counseling Center is located in Old Main 540 and can be reached at 360-650-3164 during business hours. For faculty or staff, they may access the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) by calling 877-313-4455.