Pratt Institute Students Flee Dorm Fire in New York

Eighty Pratt Institute students were evacuated from their Brooklyn rooms yesterday as a fire hit the second-floor dormitory. The blaze at Panther Hall on DeKalb Avenue at Hall Street, started at 4:02 p.m. and was under control by 4:26 p.m., FDNY officials said. Two firefighters suffered minor injuries.

Nov. 8, 2004

November 8, 2004 -- Eighty Pratt Institute students were evacuated from their Brooklyn rooms yesterday as a fire hit the second-floor dormitory. The blaze at Panther Hall on DeKalb Avenue at Hall Street, started at 4:02 p.m. and was under control by 4:26 p.m., FDNY officials said. Two firefighters suffered minor injuries.

Film major Shaneisha Brylon, 19, said students thought the fire was a drill, until they saw smoke. "I thought it was a false alarm, I didn't evacuate my room until I heard the firefighters breaking glass," said Brylon.

Pratt officials refused to comment on the fire, which is still under investigation.