Fire causes up to $3 million in damage to Wildermuth Intramural Center

University officials are closer to knowing how much damage was caused by a fire that happened three weeks ago at the School of Health, Physical Education and
Recreation.

The fire caused an estimated $1 million to $3 million in damage, IU spokesman Mark Land said.

A more exact estimate cannot be made until after the hardwood basketball courts and the tracks dry out. The high levels of humidity in recent weeks has caused the floors to remain water logged, Land said.

The fire, which broke out on the top of the school’s Wildermuth Intramural Center on July 5, was accidentally caused by construction on the building’s roof.

Three construction workers used a 4-inch wheel grinder to remove steel gutter brackets from the building, according to a report by Bloomington Fire Department Prevention Officer Scott Smith.

The grinding is considered “hot ticket work,” and the workers had to observe the area for 45 minutes after the chore was completed. While the three workers took a short break, the fire broke out.

The fire was able to spread so quickly, the department’s report said, because the structural materials under the construction area were original materials that date back to the time of the building’s construction.

The Wildermuth Intramural Center opened in 1928.

These materials made up what is called an expansion joint, a part of a building that is designed to safely absorb heat-induced contraction or expansion and absorb vibration.
In short, it gives the building some space to move.

In this case, the joint was “boxed in with some decking material” to allow for the movement, which caused what the department called a “chimney effect,” allowing the fire to spread upward quickly.

It took more than 50 firefighters three hours to completely extinguish the flames.

Nobody was injured in the fire, as the Intramural Center was closed for the construction.

A small number of people who were working inside the adjacent HPER building were evacuated as a precaution.

Land said the building, which was originally expected to reopen in August, will now remain closed until at least the middle of September.

If the floors do not dry out, however, the center may not reopen until the middle of fall.
“They’re working on it,” Land said. “But it’s hard to dry out that building.”

— Jake New