2-Alarm Fire Guts Varsity Club

A two-alarm fire of undetermined origin swept through the Varsity Club early this morning, causing fire, water, and smoke damage in excess of $20,000.

James S. Lentz, assistant football coach, was the sole resident of the Club when the fire broke out at 12:05 a.m. Discovering that his telephone had gone dead, he drove to the fire station at the foot of Quincy Street to turn in the alarm.

According to firemen on the scene, the blaze started in the basement corridor outside the band room. Rising along the stairway, it spread through the entire building, creating extensive damage on the second and third floors. Most of the interior of the Club, in the words of one fireman, was "gutted."

Fortunately for the Harvard Band, most of their instruments were evacuated from the building with but slight damage. The big drum, according to band manager George Kirklin '59, is "all right," although its case and cover were burned.

Many of the drums, including the smaller of the big drums, had been damaged before they could be saved. Destruction in this case appears to have been caused more by the general rush of firemen combatting the blaze in the basement than by the fire.

In addition to this damage, which Kirklin estimated to be around $2000, about two-thirds of the band's music was destroyed or damaged by fire and water. Over a foot of water had accumulated in the band room.

Carl Reinhardt, a Leverett House senior, phoned the fire department shortly after Lentz had made his report. Reinhardt reported that he saw "huge flames" shooting from the building, accompanied by a loud "crackling noise".

First in command on the scene was Deputy Chief William Cremins, who directed firefighting until Cambridge Fire Chief Timothy F. White arrived. By 1 a.m. the blaze was under control.

Representatives from the Cambridge Red Cross disaster squad, led by Edward Crane '35, arrived shortly after the blaze broke out to assist units from the Salvation Army in passing out coffee and doughnuts to firemen chilled by cold water and a 49 degree temperature.

No firemen were injured, although several men slightly overcome by smoke were administered oxygen.