Jennings Dining Hall closure after a fire in the pizza oven
A fire in Jennings Dining Hall shook up campus late September with excess smoke causing it to close for three days. Donna Hurley, the Director of Administrative Services, explained in a statement provided to The Argosy the fire arose on Sunday, Sept. 21, at roughly 4:30p.m. The fire sparked in the pizza station, specifically in the pizza oven’s chimney. After fire alarms were triggered, emergency protocols went into place, and the building had to be evacuated. Hurley said all individuals present within Jennings were safely evacuated after the incident. Both the Sackville Fire Department and Amherst Fire Department responded to the fire, and the fire was “fully extinguished, though smoke required a temporary closure of the facility for cleaning and inspection. There was no structural damage beyond the ceiling area near the oven,” said Hurley.
The closure lasted until the night of Sept. 23, with Jennings reopening Wednesday morning of that week. During the closure, dinner was provided by Jack’s Pizza, according to Hurley, and was served at Gracie’s Café in the Wallace McCain Student Centre. On Sept. 22, as Jennings’ closure was still in effect, meals continued to be served out of Gracie’s Cafe. Jennings worker Aiden Woodin, who worked the Monday of the fire, alleges it was “chaotic.” Speaking on working out of the café, Woodlin highlighted the size limitations of the space saying “everyone came walking there. We were just using whatever food Gracie’s had.” On-campus student Reaya Evans said, “there were very small portions and limited amounts,” Evans continued, “I know I personally don’t eat beef or pork, so there was one time where the only vegetarian option was tomato soup and a salad, which is not filling at all.” The alleged lack of choice for students with dietary restrictions led some to go off campus to eat. Evans said, “I tried to go a couple times, and I usually just ended up leaving because there was not enough food or it was not something that I could eat or want to eat, and I ended up spending a lot of money during that time.” Despite the limited options, Evans said, “I think that they definitely tried, and I did like that things were free, because I was concerned about the money aspect with it closing. We pay so much for the meal plan.”
As the week progressed, dining services were relocated to the Residence Life Zone located at 149 Main St., attached to Harper Hall. The Residence Life Zone was where food was served, and students could use the Windsor Grand Room next door as a dining space. By Wednesday Sept. 24, Jennings was reopened to students. The most notable change in Jennings was the smell, with Evans saying it was “very smoky smelling, but it’s been fine”.. Evans continued saying, “it has been pretty much back to normal other than the pizza station, but I’m pretty sure they have been doing different types of pizza at the grill station. But it’s been pretty much back to normal since the closing.”
As of now Jennings is mostly operational “thanks to the efforts of all responders, staff, and community partners who came together quickly and effectively,” said Hurley. While there are some lingering effects like smoke odor and the non-operational pizza station, Jennings has largely returned to normal operations. The incident highlighted both the vulnerabilities and the resilience of campus systems.