Stony Brook University: 3 employees taken to hospital after Math Tower fire breaks out
A Stony Brook University fire marshall is tended to at the scene where a fire broke out in a classroom on campus around 3:25 p.m. on Sept. 24, 2014, officials said. Credit: James Carbone
A small fire Wednesday at Stony Brook University sent three employees to the hospital, including one with smoke inhalation, school authorities said.
The blaze appeared to have started about 3:45 p.m. in a piece of electrical equipment on the third floor of the mathematics building, said university spokeswoman Lauren Sheprow.
The fire set off several alarms, and the university sent out an alert to advise people to stay clear of the five-story Math Tower.
Flames were extinguished by 4:30 p.m., authorities said, but fire officials continued to address smoky conditions in the building.
One staff member was take to Stony Brook University Hospital for smoke inhalation, Sheprow said.
Two Stony Brook University fire marshals were also taken to the hospital for evaluation, said Chief Anthony Todaro of the Setauket fire department, which directed the response.
He said more than six other departments responded because firefighters were needed to make sure no one was trapped inside.
The smoke conditions afterward prompted firefighters to put in exhaust fans to blow out the stale air and also to open the roof hatch to the elevator, Todaro said.
The cause of the fire is being investigated by the Suffolk police arson squad, he said.
