Investigation Underway After Fire Forces Evacuation Of Barnard College Dorm
NEW YORK (CBSnew York/AP) -- Authorities are investigating the cause of a fire that forced the evacuation of a Barnard College dormitory.
The blaze erupted at 11:30 p.m. Tuesday on West 116th Street. It appeared to have started at Ollie's Noodle Shop & Grill in the same building as the dorm and across from Columbia University.
Senior Merav Stein says she was doing school work when the fire alarms went of.
"A lot of my friends were freaking out so I kind of wanted to be very calm," she said.
Junior Hannah Lockspeiser also lives in the building.
"Once people passed there, I think people saw there was a real fire and people got a little more frantic, but it wasn't too chaotic," she said.
Witnesses described hearing an explosion. The windows of Ollie's appeared to have been blown out and glass and other debris could be seen littered on the sidewalk.
"There was an explosion," said Ayanbi Naylor. "They told us to evacuate and we all had to come down as soon as possible."
It took more than an hour and a half for firefighters to get the blaze under control. A Con Edison spokesperson confirms it was not gas related.
Six people were injured, including four firefighters and two students, CBS2's Andrea Grymes reported.
Fire Forces Evacuation Of Barnard College Dorm
A Barnard College spokesperson says the building houses about 200 students, in addition to several tenants who are not students.
Barnard staffers helped students find other places to sleep Tuesday night, letting them back inside around 8 a.m. Wednesday.
Barnard College Spokesperson Joanne Kwong told Grymes the building still lacks gas, heat and hot water. No word on when gas will be back on.
(TM and © Copyright 2015 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2015 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
