Brattleboro.gov
(802) 251-8151
About 24 hours after emergency personnel responded to multiple fires at the School for International Training (SIT) campus, nine of the 26 buildings on campus have been cleared for occupancy, with three more expected to open tomorrow.
The American Red Cross plans to keep the temporary shelter open and provide food to those affected through the weekend as more buildings are cleared for occupancy. About three dozen people will remain in the shelter through Friday evening.
“At this time, SIT is taking things day by day as we focus on the well-being of our refugee students,” said Tim Rivera, Senior Advisor of World Learning & SIT. “We continue to assess the situation in all of our buildings and are looking forward to when we can resume normal operations on our campus. We would like to express our enormous gratitude to the Red Cross for their care and professionalism throughout.”
On March 26, 2025, emergency personnel responded to and contained fires in five buildings on the SIT campus, temporarily displacing 126 people. Later that evening, the American Red Cross established shelter in a central location on-site.
Brattleboro Assistant Fire Chief Charles Keir III said that while the exact cause remains under investigation, the cause is not suspicious in nature.
Carol Lolatte, the Brattleboro Recreation and Parks Director, who serves as a liaison between the Red Cross and the Town of Brattleboro, expressed her appreciation to the Red Cross for its responsiveness and to the Brattleboro Co-op and Vermont Country Deli, both of which supplied food to the campus.
“Both organizations went above and beyond to feed people with very little lead time to complete a large order,” said Lolatte.
SIT and the Ethiopian Community Development Council (ECDC) have a network of established volunteers prepared to assist in the days ahead. John Montes, a representative from the Red Cross, said that members of the public who are interested in supporting the response effort can direct monetary donations toward SIT and ECDC.
To make a financial contribution online, visit graduate.sit.edu/donate (select “Other” under the Designation dropdown menu and write “Refugee Support” in the Designation box).
Donations to ECDC can be made to ecdcvt.org/donate.
Date: March 27, 2025
Brattleboro.gov
(802) 251-8151
230 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT 05301
"the cause is not suspicious in nature."
Not suspicious! : )
five fires in one day shutting down nearly twenty buildings
just another normal Spring day in Brattleboro
nothing to see here
LOL
> Not suspicious! : )
Seriously, lol. I gleaned from the Reformer’s article yesterday that there were 5 fires that started almost at the same time. There was also electrical work going on across the campus, according to the same article, which seems like a plausible cause of fire. But 5 buildings at once?
it would help if the five buildings were enumerated
then the layman could at least map the incident