Sleeper Hall being evacuated due to fire

Sleeper Hall was evacuated just after 10:15pm Sunday night after a fire started on the second floor. No word on how the fire began.

The fire started in room 202 in Sleeper Hall. According to District Fire Chief Garry Pilato, the room was unoccupied at the time. The fire set off the sprinklers and "flooded the room, and the fire also took over the room." Crews took over and put out the fire and shut off the sprinklers. The hallway between rooms 202 to 218 flooded, and water ran into the elevator shaft.

"The fire was on my floor – I evacuated because a student was knocking on all the doors to get everyone out. I saw a girl running from the lounge side of the floor crying and yelling for everyone to get out. We all evacuated down the stairs," said Helen Kitrosser (CGS '19).

Students filed out of Sleeper and toward New Balance Field. The second floor of Claflin has been evacuated, but Rich Hall has not.

There are currently about half a dozen firetrucks at Sleeper, and while the fire is out, there is no sign the fire alarms or sprinklers will be stopping anytime soon.

Students evacuating Sleeper Hall as the fire truck ladder stretches up to the second floor.

BUPD has sent out an emergency alert. Sleeper is continuing to be evacuated, and no one is being allowed into Claflin Hall at this time.

Alert from BUPD

All thirteen floors of Sleeper are being evacuated. Zeina Fayad (SAR '19), says this wasn't originally the case. "I live on floor thirteen and although floors below us had to evacuate, we weren't given the signal to do so," she said. "Our alarms went off and the halls smelled like something was burning but we did not have to leave – maybe it is because we are the top-most floor of the hall. But little by little some floor thirteen occupants evacuated so I did too."

Other students' alarms did not give them any warning. "I wish my fire alarm worked," said Brienna Krebs (SAR '20). "It went off the first time but it didn't go off after the first message so we stayed in bed until someone yelled at us to get out."

Residents on the fifth floor of Sleeper also never heard a signal after the first message – it wasn't until they smelled smoke that they began to evacuate.

Alexa Moreno (CAS '21) could hear the sirens all the way from Warren Towers. "I was concerned when I heard it was in West – a lot of my friends live there," she said.

The fire started in a second floor apartment. Firetrucks have left the scene, but investigators are still looking into the incident. It is unclear what the cause of the fire was, or if any injuries were sustained.