A dryer fire on the second floor of New Hall South displaced over 300 students on Nov. 13.
The first and second floors received extensive water damage, causing two residents to relocate to New Hall North for the remainder of the semester, school officials said.
The Cookeville Fire Department extinguished the fire within 10 minutes. No students were injured, school officials said in a news release.
“I was doing laundry and had my clothes in the dryer,” freshman marketing major Mitchell Turner said. “I went back to my room and the fire alarm went off.”
An overworked dryer belt caused the fire, Turner said. The CFD has not determined if this is true.
“We haven’t narrowed down exactly the point of origin, yet,” firefighter Daniel Snyder said.
The fire destroyed most of Turner’s clothes. He and other students filed a claim with the state.
Tech plans to cover cost incurred by students and about 50 employees helped all students affected, according to the news release.
University Police safely moved students across the road at NHN while firefighters extinguished the fire.
Staff assisted in overnight stays and about 120 students stayed in NHN. Other students stayed in fraternities or hotels, Turner said.
This is the second dryer fire at NHS since March 2018, according to Tech’s residential fire log.
To prevent dryer fires, the CFD recommends to clean out dryer vents, avoid overloading and putting clothing with gasoline in the dryer.
