An air conditioning unit caused the May 2 fire on Schenley Hall’s second floor, a D.C. Fire Department incident report confirmed.
The May 5 report stated that the fire started when electrical wiring ignited due to a “spark, ember or flame from operating equipment,” and that the flames spread due to curtains and other fabric. Fire department spokesman Alan Etter told The Hatchet Friday night that the fire was caused by an air conditioner that caught fire.
The fire investigator’s report estimated the fire caused a loss of $75,000 — 60 percent of all property and contents — including $20,000 in damages to the room’s contents.
DCFD responded with 21 units, with the first arriving within three minutes of the 9:29 p.m. dispatch. Firefighters quickly extinguished the fire, which was contained to the second-floor room. The third floor received some smoke damage.
The report stated that the “cause of ignition was unintentional” and there were no human factors that contributed to the fire.