Oiled Rags Cause Thayer Hall Fire

Fire under the basement steps of Thayer North caused $15 in damages Wednesday night. The Cambridge Fire Department reported that spontaneous combustion of oily rags started the blaze.

Alan K. Brown '54 and Frederick L. Hall '54 noticed smoke from the basement at 10:15 p.m. They ran over to the fire station across the street to find that Sergeant Toomey of the Yard police had already turned in an alarm.

Nine fire trucks were on the scene within two minutes and quickly put out the blaze before much damage was done to a nearby wall. The fire caused confusion as students rushed to save trunks stored in the basement rooms.