BROOKLYN, FEBRUARY 15, 3013 A fire raged in the early hours of the morning on the top floor of the historic main building of Pratt Institute in Fort Green, destroying the roof and sixth floor student studios and causing significant smoke and water damage throughout the rest of the building. There were no reported injuries beyond minor injuries to firefighters on the scene.
Reports confirm that senior-year undergraduate fine art students have been the heaviest hit in the catastrophe, with devastating losses of thesis show work in the top floor studios.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, but in a message to the Pratt community the Institute’s President, Thomas F. Schutte reported that that “at this time there is no indication as to any specific cause, despite press reports that may indicate otherwise.”
The Daily News, however, quoted fire marshals as investigating the fire as suspicious due to the volume of flame and that the building is typically unoccupied after 9 p.m.