A mattress fire inside a seventh-floor room at Savannah College of Art and Design’s FORTY residence hall sent nearly 150 Atlanta students scrambling from their Midtown dorm rooms on Monday afternoon. No one was hurt, but sprinklers and smoke left a messy trail of water and soot through multiple suites, and dozens of students spent the rest of the day trying to save wet artwork, electronics and refrigerated medication. SCAD shifted affected students into other on-campus housing that night, and campus crews started inspecting the building the next day.
SCAD later confirmed that 143 students were directly affected. Firefighters told Channel 2 that the flames started on a mattress and stayed contained to that one room, but water and smoke traveled into neighboring units. By about 8:45 p.m. Monday, students said everyone who needed a new room had been reassigned elsewhere on campus. As WSB-TV reported, video from inside showed bubbling paint, cracked drywall and water marks spreading around light fixtures.
Forty Is A Big Building - And That Matters
The FORTY tower is a 14-story residence hall with roughly 592 student beds, part of SCAD Atlanta’s recent growth spurt. In a building that size, shared utilities and automatic sprinklers mean even a small room fire can create a big footprint of water damage on the floors above, below and next door. The city’s Midtown development report lists FORTY as a 14-story, 592-bed hall completed in 2019, which helps explain how one mattress fire managed to disrupt life for dozens of students.
Students Describe Lost Supplies And Spoiled Medicine
For students, the damage went well beyond soggy carpet. Residents reported ruined art supplies, soaked canvases and camera gear, and worries about medications that had been kept cold. One Type 1 diabetic said her insulin was spoiled after power was cut. "A lot of my stuff was wet. I’m a Type 1 diabetic. So, a lot of my medication got wet," student Victoria Darko told Channel 2. Fellow resident Morrice Cartwright estimated roughly $2,000 in damage to his equipment. Repairs and inspections were expected to continue on Wednesday, and SCAD had not yet given students a return date, according to WSB-TV.
Insurance And Responsibility
Students said the school did not require renters insurance, which left many unsure how, or if, their personal losses would be covered. SCAD’s housing policies state that the university "is not responsible for the loss or damage of personal property in student rooms" and that it "strongly encourages" students to buy coverage. The school partners with GradGuard to offer an optional renters policy. In the meantime, residence life staff are coordinating temporary housing, storage and other support for displaced students while inspectors move through the building.
For now, students say they are focused on salvaging final projects where they can and securing replacement medication while construction crews handle the rest. SCADhome remains the main point of contact for housing updates, logistics and resources for everyone affected.
