MIT dorm evacuated, bomb squad called, but no bomb found

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

CAMBRIDGE – Two MIT dormitories were evacuated today when contractors discovered what appeared to be pipe bombs, but officials later determined they were harmless objects that had the appearance of explosive devices.

The New House dormitory (Building W70 in MIT nomenclature) at 471 Memorial Drive was evacuated around 7:30 a.m. when contractors found the objects in a common room on the third floor of the building, according to Cambridge police. The adjacent Next House (Building W71) was evacuated a few hours later.

The department summoned its bomb squad and eventually used a water cannon three times to “disrupt’’ the objects. By mid-afternoon, officials knew the devices were not a danger to the public and reopened the dormitories to residents.

“An object that had the appearance and characteristic of a pipe bomb turned out to be, on further examination, to be a collection of harmless materials,’’ said MIT spokesman Nate Nickerson.

Cambridge Deputy Police Chief Jack Albert said the object that drew the greatest concern was two pieces of pipe screwed together. Inside, bomb technicians discovered powder and ball bearings.

He said it wasn’t clear what the pipe was made for, but it was sufficiently suspicious to call in the bomb squad.

“You can’t go wrong being safe,” he said. “It looked like a pipe bomb.’’

The bomb squad was joined on the scene by agents from the FBI and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, officials said.