A section of material being used to resurface the roof of WVU’s Armstrong Hall caught fire Friday afternoon. A Morgantown fire crew was sent out to quickly extinguish the flames.
The call came in at 2:44 p.m. and firefighters, with the aid of a ladder truck from Granville’s volunteer company, had the blaze knocked back about 20 minutes later.
Fewer than 20 people were in the building at the time of the fire, and most of them were faculty and staff.
There were no classes being held at the time and no injuries were reported.
“Many thanks to our friends from Granville,” Morgantown Fire Capt. Mark Thalman said.
Flames were shooting from the material when a work crew called 911, he said. A 75-foot section of the material caught fire, he said.
“Given the heat and everything, it’s hard to say at this point,” Thalman responded, when asked to speculate on a possible cause. The State Fire Marshal’s Office will assist in the investigation and assess damages, he said.
In the meantime, some water damage was sustained on the fourth and third floors, Thalman said.
“The guys had to hump that equipment up four floors,” he said. “They did a great job of getting it under control quick.”
Thalman also appreciated that people stayed calm as they exited the building — and said he was glad logistics didn’t make the situation any hotter.
“We were worried initially about how tricky it was going to be getting our trucks down here,” he said.
Armstrong is located in a compact clutch of buildings near Beechurst Avenue, sloping down from Woodburn Circle and the university’s main campus downtown.
Constructed in 1950, Armstrong houses WVU’s Center for Literary Computing and the departments of mathematics, communications studies and numerous other operations.
“We anticipate the building will be closed through Monday for assessment and cleanup,” university spokeswoman April Kaull said.
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