Fire at Auburn University's Hargis Hall under investigation

A fire in the attic space of Auburn University’s Hargis Hall Thursday evening has caused moderate fire and water damage and displaced 15 administrative personnel in the school’s graduate studies offices.

Auburn Fire Division Chief Lee Lamar said firefighters received the call just before 6 p.m. and upon arrival observed fire and smoke coming from the steeple windows of the building.

“The building’s sprinkler system activated, which activated the fire alarm,” Lamar said.

The sprinklers confined the fire to one spot as fire crews made entry into an attic area, extinguishing the fire. Water weight from the sprinkler systems caused the ceilings of at least two office spaces directly below the steeple to collapse, Lamar said.

Personnel were present in the building at the time of the fire but all escaped without injury, Lamar said.

“Hopefully by early next week, workers can get to other offices not affected by the fire, but several of them are going to be shut down for a while,” Lamar said.

Susan McCallister, AU associate director of public safety information and education, said while it is not known how long the graduate school’s administrative personnel will be displaced as a result of the fire, a location to relocate the staff has already been found.

Fire watch was posted Thursday night and the building will be turned over to AU facilities workers on Friday so they can begin repairs, Lamar said. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.