At roughly 2:00pm on Friday, January 26, 2024 room 204 of the Old Forestry Building caught fire.
The fire was severe enough to set off the fire alarm and sprinkler system throughout the building.
Campus Security, who was controlling the evacuated crowd of Forestry students, refused to comment on the situation. Their only note was that it was:
“A real fire.”
A full firetruck and two emergency vehicles responded to the fire alarm. The fire truck rolled out hoses, one of which they took into the front doors of the Forestry Building.
No smoke was visible from the exterior of the building.
According to the students standing outside the building, none had seen actual smoke in the halls, and had evacuated after the alarms and sprinklers went off.
Taylor Sauers (please contact for spelling), a third year ENR student said
“A friend and I walked out of the Forestry Lounge, which is right beside the Woodsmans’ room, that was on fire, and we could smell burning… I knew that something was wrong because you’re not allowed to burn anything in the building.”
Taylor also described Campus Security’s response to the fire.
“Security came rolling down, shutting all the doors. We were told to leave—this wasn’t a drill… apparently the sprinklers went off, so the building is definitely water damaged a bit.”
However, Taylor noted that—like the other students I spoke to—she never saw any smoke.
Another student, Sydney Fairbairn (please contact for spelling), in third year Forestry, lamented possible damages to the Woodsmans’ room.
“There’s so much history in that room, and it’s just sad… hopefully it’s not as bad as it seems.”
Hopefully damage was kept to a minimum, as the Old Forestry Building is a symbol of UNB’s historic forestry program, which was the first of its kind in all of Canada.
Only time will tell what damages the Old Forestry Building suffered.
