The lowest level of the University of Mary's Harold J. Miller Science Center has no ceiling and no floor tile. Old wires hang down from above, awaiting removal.

But it looks better than it did a few months ago, says Brent Winiger, vice president for financial affairs.

A Sept. 25 fire rendered the building useless for the purpose of first semester classes. The blaze led to the evacuation of four buildings, and six people had to be rescued by ladder from a third-floor classroom. No one was injured in the fire, but heavy smoke damage and other problems had to be dealt with before students could return to the building.

More than 100 classes had to be relocated for the remainder of the semester. Most moved to other U-Mary buildings, but one had to be moved to St. Mary's High School, Winiger said.

Since the day of the fire, cleaning crews and insurance contractors have worked to get the science center ready to go for second semester classes.

"The cleaning crews have done a magnificent job," Winiger said.

The fire started in the building's elevator shaft, but Winiger said fire officials have not been able to determine an exact cause of the fire. Even sifting through ashes from the blaze in the shaft gave no clue as to what caused the fire. Mark Stephens, director of the physical plant, said the fire was considered an accidental electrical fire.

The area in front of the elevator shaft on the basement floor suffered the most severe damage. The floor tile burned off completely, electrical wire casings melted, and light covers and ceiling tiles were scorched. The walls were blackened with soot throughout the bottom floor.

"This was where the fire was most intense,"Winiger said.

The fire caused no structural damage except for to the elevator and the elevator shaft.

Winiger said smoke damage was the main problem on the building's upper three floors.

"The walls here in the stairway were just filthy," he said.

Cleaning crews had to use a dry-ice blasting technique to get clean the concrete walls of the staircase after taking off and repainting railings a glossy black.

Stephens said ceiling tiles and lighting fixtures through the building were removed, walls were sealed and repainted a shiny white, carpet was removed, floors were stripped and refinished and duct work was cleaned out.

The science center houses the university's science laboratories, which contain many pieces of special lab equipment. Many of the pieces had to be sent out for specialty cleaning, Winiger said.

Other items in the building, such as books and items in professors' offices, had to be placed in "ozone rooms" to get rid of the smoky smell.

Winiger said he could not even venture a guess as to how much damage the fire had caused in terms of dollar amounts. He said a final tally has not been completed.

The fire exposed a few problems in the building and outside of it, said Stephens, who began working at the university in June.

Many fire alarms inside the science center did not go off during the blaze. Stephens believes some of them may have shorted out as the fire began. In response to that, an upgraded fire alarm system has been installed in the building. Winiger said the new alarms have battery back ups.

Winiger said many of the campus's older buildings, including the science center, are being upgraded. The science center was one of the campus's original buildings, erected in the 1960s. The updates were planned before the fire, he said.

Stephens said systems to be upgraded include the fire alarm systems, boilers and roofs.

"As we do certain buildings, we have different areas we work on as we go through," he said.

Another problem brought to the university's attention during the fire was the fact that the valve for a fire hydrant located outside the science center had been paved over during road construction. The problem hadn't been caught prior to the fire, Stephens said.

Updates to buildings and grounds will be continuous, Winiger said.

"Safety and security is the most important thing," he said.

When students return to campus, the building should be ready for classes, though Stephens anticipates a new elevator may not arrive in time. Winiger said classes will be moved if necessary to accommodate people who need the elevator.

Students also will find other changes on campus, some of which are already in the works. The university's bookstore and "Mart," a store to buy U-Mary merchandise as well as school supplies and snacks, have been combined. In the space formerly occupied by the Mart, a coffee shop, which has yet to be named, will open next semester, Winiger said.

He said the science building will be rededicated sometime in early January when classes resume after Christmas. He credited the university's faculty, staff and students for making the difficult semester easier to handle.

"We absolutely have the greatest students in the world, and the greatest faculty and staff," he said.

(Reach reporter Jenny Michael at 250-8225 or jenny.michael@;bismarcktribune.com.)