Despite Tuesday’s late night flames on the roof of Patrick F. Taylor Hall, the university’s main engineering building, College of Engineering communications director Sydni Dunn said the building’s ongoing construction is still on track.

Though Patrick F. Taylor is undergoing an extensive renovation and expansion project, Dunn said progress is not expected to be delayed more than one week.

“We’re still on schedule to complete the first phase of the project over the summer,” Dunn said.

BRFD responded to a fire in Patrick F. Taylor at 8:30 p.m. After starting above the mechanical penthouse on the north side of the building, firefighters contained and extinguished the flames by 9:10 p.m.

Dunn said the fire is believed to have been caused by hot tar and asphalt materials that were used to install a new portion of the roof earlier that day. The damaged caused by the blaze was confined to that particular construction area and did not affect any part of the building currently in use, she said.

The Lemoine Company’s preliminary findings provided to The Daily Reveille by LSU Media Relations Director Ernie Ballard show the penthouse appears to have minimal water and smoke damage, but there is no apparent damage to mechanical equipment.
No one was injured, and employees were cleared to return to work Wednesday, Dunn said.