A College security officer reported the fire at 1:17 a.m., and the town fire department responded to the greatest extent possible. By the time they reached the site, however, the fire had penetrated the roof of the building, and additional backup units had to be called in from Hadley, South Hadley, Pelham and Northampton. A total of sixty firefighters worked through the night to put out the blaze, and finally brought the situation under control by 5 a.m. By this time, however, the fire had destroyed all but one wall of New Gym and had partly damaged the roof of the neighboring building that housed Pratt Pool.
³It was simply unbelievable that a building that size could be destroyed so quickly,² said a student who witnessed the blaze. ³It was devastating.²
The cage, locker rooms, squash courts and old gym all escaped damage and were opened again by the following day, reported The Student. Luckily, there were no reported injuries. ³A dorm, a library or especially the loss of a life would have been far more tragic,² said Director of Athletics Peter Gooding. ³While the loss of a gym is certainly disappointing, we¹ve got to keep it in perspective.²
Then-President Peter Pouncey announced that the first step in swiftly replacing the facility would be to bring in an independent insurance firm to ascertain the cause of the fire. Both Pouncey and Gooding agreed that trustees would view the project as a high priority and that financial demands would not impede the construction of a new gym.
In the interim, both Hampshire and Mt. Holyoke colleges welcomed students to their gyms and pools, granting access with a college ID. Gooding hoped to have a new gym open by September, or at least by basketball season in the winter.