Most areas of the University of Delaware’s McKinly Laboratory will remain closed throughout the fall semester as crews work to repair smoke and water damage from an early August fire.

The building’s third floor, however, will continue to be open and operate as one site of the Math Sciences Learning Laboratory (MSSL). MSSL’s temporary second location will be in the former Kent Dining Hall. Tutoring services will take place in the Kent location, which has been retrofitted for the purpose.

The departments of Biological Sciences, Linguistics and Cognitive Science, Mathematical Sciences, and Psychological and Brain Sciences all occupy space within McKinly.  Dozens of classes were scheduled to be held in the building during the upcoming semester. All classes have been moved to new locations. Students are reminded to check the locations of their classes in UDSIS prior to attending the first session of each course.

The Aug. 9 blaze damaged one of the building’s three HVAC air-handling systems but did not affect the structure of the building. The air handling system servicing the third floor was not damaged and has been inspected and certified by city code inspectors.

“Safety is our first priority. We feel confident operations can continue on the third floor while repairs take place elsewhere in the building,” said Peter Krawchyk, vice president for facilities, real estate and auxiliary services.

Faculty and staff with offices in the facility have been temporarily relocated to other locations on campus.