Fire erupts in fume hood of Building 18
Building 18 underwent several ventilation repairs earlier this year
Shortly before 12:30 P.M. on Nov. 20, a fume hood on the first floor of Building 18 caught fire. Building 18 houses several laboratories belonging to the Institute’s Chemistry Department. Emergency services responded promptly and sections of Ames Street were closed as the building was evacuated. Approximately ten minutes after the fire began, it was extinguished by the Cambridge Fire Department.
It is unclear at the time of writing whether the fire was connected to several repairs conducted in Building 18 earlier this year.
In an email to the MIT Chemistry community on Sept. 3, Richard J. Wilk, Director of Administration and Finance in the Department of Chemistry, stated that “during a routine inspection of the Building 18 fume hood exhaust fans in May 2024, the Department of Facilities identified a problem with the main ductwork connected to the fans at the roof level.” Wilk said that the issue extended to about 40% of the laboratory hoods in the building.
Repairs were made in June of 2024, but in his Sept. email, Wilk wrote that there “was more damage than expected and additional work is required to complete the job.”
On Sept. 14, a total shutdown of the exhaust fans for hoods of certain rooms took place from 7:00 AM to 3:15 PM, necessitating an essential shutdown of the entire building for the duration of repairs due to the possibility of air imbalances throughout Building 18. In particular, the exhaust fans for hoods in rooms ending in 05, 44, and 63 were closed. At the time of writing, it is unknown which specific room this fire originated in.
Building 18, which is seven stories tall and shares a skybridge with Building 56, was built in 1967 designed by I.M. Pei’s firm. It was last renovated in 2003.