Fire shuts down O'Brian Hall

The smell of smoke and soot has lingered in the air of O'Brian Hall days after a fire on the second floor caused almost $200,000 in damage and cancelled classes for the first two days back from spring break.

During the cleanup for the Saturday morning fire, the building was closed for five days, reopening on Wednesday. The Sears Law Library will remain closed indefinitely, according to law school officials.

"There is soot on the books and equipment throughout the library, and they will require extensive cleaning," said John Della Contrada, a spokesman for the law school.

Law students have been told to use Lockwood Library instead of the law library, which is also a popular study destination for undergraduate students, and students in other graduate schools.

John Grela, the director of Public Safety, said the fire started in the law school food court on the second floor.

"We were notified at 7:40 a.m. via an alarm to the office," Grela said.

While the fire itself remained contained to that room, the entire building was flooded with smoke and soot that caused damage on all seven floors. According to Grela, the cause of the fire has not yet been determined.

Also, after firefighters responded to the call, there was water damage in both the food court and the lecture hall below the food court, Room 106, Della Contrada said.

The food court itself was affected the worst, along with the lecture hall below and the classroom next door, Room 209. The Law School Library was also severely damaged by smoke and soot, and will remain closed indefinitely, according to Della Contrada.

While no official estimates have been released, preliminary findings from Fire Chief Raymond Fiegl of the Getzville Fire Company indicate the fire may have caused as much as $200,000 in damages, according to a March 21 article in the Buffalo News.

Students returning to school on Monday were surprised to discover some of their classes had been cancelled. Public reaction to the news was generally positive.

"It's unfortunate but I'm glad it's not worse," said Robert Middlemiss, a second year law student. "It's kind of nice to have a little extra unexpected spring vacation too."