Fire breaks out at Sweeney Hall

A fire broke out around 5:15 a.m. on the morning of May 30. The fire was on the roof of Sweeney Hall. The building suffered extensive smoke and water damage. No one was injured.

Maddy Arnold and Greg Zwiers

A fire broke out on the roof of Sweeney Hall early May 30. The building has suffered extensive smoke and water damage, according to the ISU News Service.

The Ames Fire Department extinguished the fire and finished cleaning up the area later Friday morning. The fire began in the mechanical penthouse of Sweeney Hall. There were no reported injuries, according to the news service.

The west wing of the building will be closed through the weekend because of smoke and water damage as well as odor, according to the Iowa State News Service.

The faculty and staff of Sweeney Hall who work in the chemical and biological engineering department were told not to report to work Friday. Classes normally held in Sweeney, affecting about 62 students total, have been moved.

A cleaning company, ServiceMaster, will be working through the weekend to clean, deodorize the building, remove water and take out items that cannot be cleaned.

Bob Currie of facilities planning and management said a 100-foot by 50-foot section of the roof was damaged. Central States Roofing is making the repairs.

“Structurally, the building is fine,” Currie said.

Annette Hacker of the Iowa State News Service said the cause of the fire had not been determined yet. She also said there is not yet an estimate of the cost of repairs or full extent of the damage.

The Ames Fire Department is investigating the cause of the fire and has referred all comments to the Iowa State News Service, citing the fire occurred on Iowa State’s campus. The Ames Police Department referred all comments to the Iowa State News Service as well.