Northeastern fires prompt arson probe

Boston arson investigators are looking into the causes of two fires yesterday in two Northeastern University buildings, one of which houses the president's office.

Just before noon, Boston firefighters received a call about a fire on the fourth floor of the Curry Student Center off Huntington Avenue. Less than three hours later, another fire was reported at Churchill Hall, about 100 feet away, where the president's office is located.

The fires occurred during the first summer session, when fewer than half the university's 14,000 students take classes. While no one was injured in the fires and university officials said they did not know how much damage resulted, students said they were shaken.

``Right now, they're listed as undetermined, under investigation," said Lieutenant David Pfeil, a spokesman for the Boston Fire Department. The fire investigations unit is expected to issue a preliminary report this morning about the blazes, he said.

The first fire began in Room 428, the office of Sandra Miller, student media adviser; she could not be reached for comment yesterday. The fire was confined to Miller's office, but there was water damage throughout the floor, which is home to student media groups including the student newspaper, the yearbook, and Spectrum, Northeastern's literary magazine.

``We have everything in there, and a lot of the stuff can't be replaced," said Stephen Asay, financial manager for Spectrum, who worried that water from the sprinkler system may have destroyed the magazine's archives, financial records, and about 150 copies of the most recent edition.

Michael DeRamo, a Northeastern sophomore, and another student were on the third floor of the student center, working on a new website design for the Student Government Association, when the alarm sounded. They hurried out of the building as soon as they smelled the smoke.

Later, DeRamo heard about the second fire, which began about 2:15 in a closet on the first floor of Churchill Hall, the same floor as the president's office.

He watched yesterday as firefighters placed a charred door outside the gray, four-story building and said he was worried that an arsonist could be targeting the school.

``We don't know where it will hit next," he said, his hands trembling.

``All you need is a very small percentage of unbalanced people to cause damage," said Ahmed Abdelal, Northeastern's provost, who stood with students at Churchill Hall, surveying the damage.

Several students wondered whether yesterday's fires were connected to a fire set in April at Ell Hall, which caused $500,000 worth of damage to the building. That fire was ruled suspicious, fire officials have said.

University spokeswoman Laura Shea said Boston firefighters are still investigating the fire at Ell Hall, which began at the university's Office of Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution on the second floor.

No one was hurt in the April blaze.

Shea, in a telephone interview, declined to say if university officials are concerned that the three fires are connected.

``We're just waiting to hear from the Fire Department what their assessment is," Shea said.

The fire forced Northeastern alumna Anya Morozkina, 23, to close NU Calling, a student telemarketing office on the basement floor of Churchill, for the day.

``I'm stressed out right now," she said, as she stood outside the building. Students at NU Calling, a program that raises money for student activities and scholarships, had a goal of raising $1 million for fiscal 2006.

``We're very close," Morozkina said. ``We really need this month to put us there. Hopefully, it's not going to set us back."

The air around Churchill Hall smelled of smoke late yesterday afternoon. Several windows had been opened to ventilate the building. Firefighters were forced to break four windows stuck shut, and shards of shattered glass lay on the brick walkway in front of Churchill Hall.

An arson investigation truck was parked on Huntington Avenue for several hours, and University police officers around both buildings stopped pedestrians, searching their bags and asking them about their whereabouts that day.

``If it was an arsonist, what are they thinking?" asked Sergio Marrero, 22, a senior, as he walked past Churchill Hall and surveyed the damage. ``What's the point?"

Maria Cramer can be reached at mcramer@globe.com.