All but 40 students who were evacuated from the Shakespeare/Troy residence hall during a February 27 fire have returned to their rooms, residential life officials said Thursday.

The blaze, which began in a third-floor room, forced about 100 students from their dormitory. The students were relocated to Whitney Hall while workers cleaned the building, which suffered smoke damage on three floors. All but residents of the third floor returned to their rooms by March 1. "Students living on the third floor should be able to return to their rooms when classes resume after spring break," says Logan Trimble, co-director of residential life.

The fire, which was started by an unattended candle, destroyed the room and licked the outside walls of the building, burning the window frames of the room directly above. Smoke from the fire spilled into the hallways and throughout the structure, damaging walls, floors, books and furniture.

The UConn Co-op replaced, free of charge, textbooks that were damaged. Residential life officials also made washing machines and dryers available, at no charge, in Shakespeare/Troy and Whitney residence halls, and are cleaning student computers that were affected by the smoke.

Mattresses on all 40 beds on the third floor will be replaced, Trimble said. Thursday, workers sandblasted and painted the room where the fire began, and staff will be working throughout the week to replace carpeting, ceiling tiles, and damaged furniture on the floor. Trimble estimated the cost of the blaze at about $40,000.

Richard Veilleux