BRUNSWICK, Maine — A student at Bowdoin College in Brunswick suffered second and third-degree burns on his hands Monday morning.
Twenty-year-old Tristan Young was taken to Maine Medical Center in Portland after a fire in his dorm room at Quimby House started around 5 a.m. on Feb. 18.
Brunswick Fire Chief Ken Brillant says a candle started the fire, and by the time crews arrived, sprinklers had already extinguished the flames.
All students, roughly 25, at the dorm on 250 Main Street were evacuated.
Brillant says they believe Young tried to move the candle when he woke up, and that is when the fire started.
"This is a perfect example of why sprinkler systems are so effective and why they work," said Chief Brillant.
There was water on two of the dorm's floors that had to be cleaned up, but fire officials said there was minimal smoke damage to Quimby House.
Chief Brillant praised Bowdoin College for installing sprinkler systems in most of its buildings on campus as a good safety measure.
