Fire Damages Thomas Hall at Muskingum University

Area firefighters responded to a fire at Muskingum University in New Concord at approximately 7:40 p.m. Thursday.

The cause of the fire, located along the southern wall of a dining area inside Thomas Hall, is still unknown at this time. New Concord, Perry Township and Cassell Station fire departments all responded to the scene to put out the blaze. The dining hall had been closed to students since earlier in the evening and was empty except for a few staff members who remained in the kitchen area.

“This evening we had someone observe that there was smoke and a small fire located in our Thomas Hall dining facility,” said Janet Bass, the Vice President of Student Affairs at Muskingum University. “The overhead fire system immediately went into action and contained that fire. New Concord was immediately called, and as usual, they responded in a very very timely manner; came up, they were able to put out the fire and then take care of the situation. And so we’re continuing to work with Chief Gates and the fire department to investigate the fire.”

The full extent of the damage has not yet been assessed, but because the fire was in the dining hall located on the opposite side of the building as the resident dorms, no students are expected to be displaced Thursday night due to the incident. Bass tells us the university will have staff on hand Thursday night as a precaution, and the electric company has been called in to examine the wall. The dining hall will not reopen until Monday at the earliest.