A fire broke out at an off-campus home with eight residents on Waterman Street around 11 p.m. Tuesday, according to ABC News. None of the house’s residents were harmed, NBC News reported.
Police said three of the occupants of the house are Brown students, and one of the eight attends the University of Rhode Island, according to ABC.
“Officers found a makeshift ashtray, and one student said he was smoking before taking a shower,” ABC News reported, adding that police believed the cause of the fire was cigarette related.
The fire took less than 15 minutes to put out, but the “first floor suffered smoke and fire damage,” NBC News reported.
This is the second fire to occur in an off-campus house occupied by students this semester. A fire caused minor damage to an apartment at 284 Ives Street in September, The Herald previously reported.
When fires break out in student residences, the University will first seek to ensure the health and safety of those affected, said Director of News and Editorial Development Brian Clark in a previous article. The University will provide “any necessary support services for the students, covering basic needs such as clothing, housing and food and providing items integral to student life like laptops, cell phones and textbooks,” a previous Herald article stated.
The University also provides counseling support to students affected by fires, Clark said at that time.
