Campus Alert Archive
Pratt

A Four-Alarm Fire Gutted the Roof and Top Floor of Pratt's 1887 Main Building While Seniors Were Weeks Away From Their Thesis Shows

NYfireemergency notificationmedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

In the early hours of February 15, 2013, a four-alarm fire broke out on the top floor of Pratt Institute's historic Main Building at 200 Willoughby Avenue in Brooklyn, gutting the roof and sixth floor and damaging floors below with smoke and water. About 168 firefighters responded, two were injured, and the blaze was brought under control by approximately 4:11 a.m. No students were inside at the time. As many as 200 students lost months of irreplaceable artwork, including senior painting theses, stored in the upper-floor studios.

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
0
Injured
2
Institution
Pratt Institute
Private Bachelors · NY
~4,500 studentsPratt Emergency Alert System
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTEmail
Approximate reconstructionDNAinfo New York (contemporaneous fire coverage from February 2013)115 chars
There is a fire in Main Building, 200 Willoughby Ave. Please avoid the area. FDNY is on scene. Updates will follow.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

The fire was reported to have started at approximately 2:15 a.m. EST on February 15, 2013 on the top floor of the six-story Main Building at 200 Willoughby Avenue
No students or faculty were in the building at the time; the building houses Fine Arts studios, classrooms, and administrative offices
Alert text is a plausible reconstruction; the exact wording of the Pratt Emergency Alert is not preserved in the sources consulted
UPDATEEmail
Approximate reconstructionPratt Gateway (official institutional recovery update)270 chars
The fire at Main Building has been brought under control. Classes in Main Building are canceled today, Friday February 15. Please avoid the building while FDNY and investigators are on scene. More information will follow regarding relocation of classes and studio space.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

The fire was declared under control at approximately 4:11 a.m. EST on February 15, 2013, about two hours after it was reported
Approximately 168 firefighters responded; two suffered minor injuries and were taken to Brooklyn Hospital Center
Text is a plausible reconstruction; the exact post-fire Pratt Alert wording is not preserved in available sources
Context

Background

Pratt Institute is a private art and design college in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, founded in 1887, enrolling roughly 4,500 students. Its Main Building at 200 Willoughby Avenue is one of the oldest structures on campus and houses Fine Arts studios and upper-division classrooms. In the early hours of Friday, February 15, 2013, a four-alarm fire broke out on the sixth floor of the Main Building at approximately 2:15 a.m. EST, gutting the roof and top floor and causing smoke and water damage throughout the building. Around 168 FDNY personnel responded; the blaze was controlled by roughly 4:11 a.m. No students were in the building. However, as many as 200 students lost months of irreplaceable senior thesis work stored in the upper-floor painting studios, with senior painting students preparing for spring thesis exhibitions particularly hard hit. Artforum covered the loss of student work. The cause of the fire remained under investigation. Pratt relocated all 1,000 displaced faculty, staff, and students and roughly 40,000 square feet of operations to other campus buildings within a week, and provided senior painters temporary studio space in the Steuben South Galleries for the remainder of the semester. The fire raised questions about sprinkler systems in the 1887-era building, which was a designated New York City landmark.
Outcome
No students or faculty were in the building at the time of the fire; the fire started around 2:15 a.m. Two firefighters suffered minor injuries. The cause was listed as under investigation. Pratt relocated all displaced classes and 1,000 personnel to other campus buildings within a week, and senior painters were given studio space in the Steuben South Galleries.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    Massive Pratt Institute Fire Destroys Student Work - DNAinfo New York
    dnainfo.com
  2. News
    Students Lose Years Of Work In Fire At Historic Pratt Institute Building - CBS New York
    cbsnews.com
  3. News
    Raging 4-Alarm Fire Engulfs Pratt Building - NBC New York
    nbcnewyork.com
  4. News
    Fire at Pratt Institute Badly Damages Historic Building, Ruins Student Artwork - BKMAG
    bkmag.com
  5. News
    Pratt's Main Building Catches on Fire - Artforum
    artforum.com
  6. Official
    Recovery From Main Fire Underway and Relocation Complete - Pratt Gateway (Official)
    gateway.pratt.edu
Tags
art-schooldesign-schoolfirefour-alarmhistoric-buildingbrooklynnew-york-citystudent-artwork-lostspecialty-institutionpratt
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion