BIBLE HILL, N.S.—The main building at Dalhousie University’s agricultural campus is off-limits to students and faculty after a stubborn fire that kept multiple fire departments busy for hours.
David Gray, the dean and campus principal, says he got the call around 9:15 p.m. Wednesday and flames were shooting through the roof of the Cox Institute building in Bible Hill, N.S., when he arrived.
“The fire was on the roof of the building in the east wing and the fire departments were already on site and were working together with our own service units here on our campus to fight the fire and to contain it,” he said Thursday.
Gray said the blaze was finally extinguished around 4 a.m., but he had no assessment of damage or the cause.
“We’re dealing with the Fire Marshal and the Fire Marshal’s office and we currently don’t have access to the building itself so the extent of the damage is not known until the Fire Marshal completes their investigation,” he said.
No one was in the building and there were no reported injuries.
The Cox Institute is home to a number of programs, and is the location for most first-year classes.
Fire departments from Bible Hill and a number of surrounding communities responded, and Gray had high praise for the first responders: “Their response was immediate.”
The university issued a statement to say faculty and staff were to report to work in the MacRae Library or make alternate arrangements.
