by Andrew Alonzo/Claremont Courier

A second-floor dorm room fire at Harvey Mudd College’s Atwood Residence Hall, 1200 N. Mills Ave., Claremont, was swiftly put out by Los Angeles County Fire Department personnel in the evening of January 21. No injuries or missing students were reported, according to a statement from HMC, but 35 students were displaced as a result.

The fire was reported about 7 p.m. Wednesday according to officials. First responders from LA County Fire, the City of Claremont, and the Claremont Police Department extinguished the blaze by 7:35 p.m.

“The source of the fire has been identified as an electric skateboard battery,” Harvey Mudd President Harriet B. Nembhard wrote in a statement Thursday. “In the coming weeks, as we assess this situation and our collective response, we will be discussing what steps we can take to minimize the risk of these types of fires.”

Officer from CPD and The Claremont Colleges Campus Safety Department, along with staff from Mudd’s Division of Student Affairs and Facilities and Maintenance teams assisted in responding and damage assessment, according to an HMC statement.

Harvey Mudd’s Division of Student Affairs worked overnight to provide accommodations for students impacted by the fire. The Student Life’s Joelle Rudolf reported that students whose rooms were “seriously affected” received a phone call.

“We provided alternative accommodations for the displaced students and for one live-on staff member and offered support resources to any student who was shaken by this event,” Nembhard wrote in a statement. “Other Atwood residents whose rooms were not impacted were allowed to return to the residence hall at around 11 p.m. last night [January 21] after we received clearance from the fire department and city inspectors. Multiple rooms in the northeast corner of the building have been closed, and we are working with students to make alternative arrangements for housing until repairs can be completed.”

In the wake of the emergency, Karl Haushalter, the college’s vice president for academic affairs, contacted faculty to request flexibility regarding late or missed coursework from students impacted by the fire.

“We want to ensure that our students are free to focus on their immediate safety and well-being without any added academic anxiety,” according to Nembhard’s statement.

The college and City of Claremont were “assessing the building to determine which rooms are not habitable,” according to a statement Wednesday evening.