A Saturday afternoon fire in Chipps Clothiers, Mt. Auburn st. clothing establishment, drew a crowd of more than 500 curious undergraduates before firemen from the Lincoln sq station succeeded in extinguishing it.

Firemen said damage was principally in the Harris tweed section of the shop, but declined to estimate the extent of loss or speculate over the origin of the blaze.

The fire was first spotted by four Cambridge moppets and before it was over, 10 engines were on the scene. Firemen attributed their difficulty in fighting the bloke to the fact that the burning wool emitted smoke instead of burning cleanly.

Cocktailers Gather

Though hardly a victory bonfire, the conflagration brought martini-drinking cocktailers pouring from the Phoenix and Iroquois Clubs, and they proceeded to swarm over equipment to cheer on the fire department in the efforts to quell the blaze.

In the evening firemen continued their elaboration of National Fire Professor Week as 10 engines raced down De Wolfe st. to put out a smoking fireplace.