Fire Disaster

On the morning of September 6, 1922, just weeks after plans for the new chemistry building were written up, the Old Chemistry Laboratory erupted in flames. Firefighters arrived on the scene at 6:30am but there was not much that could be done at that point. The building was soon engulfed in flames, but Dr. Charles Peters and other professors in the Chemistry Department were able to salvage books and some valuable equipment. Still, the flames caused over $20,000 in damages. 

The origin of the fire was never determined although some believed that a Bunsen burner on a wooden bench caught fire. The fire destroyed the building mere weeks before term was due to begin, leaving numerous Chemistry students and faculty without lecture halls, textbooks, laboratories, or equipment.