A fire in an officially empty, but unofficially occupied, student suite in Mather House yesterday afternoon caused between $500 and $1000 worth of damage and sent an apartment-hunting M.I.T. student apartment-hunting once again.

Mattress

The fire broke out in Mather suite 418 after a mattress leaning against a hot radiator broke into flames. The mattress and a suitcase filled with clothes were both destroyed in the blaze, causing smoke damage to walls and ceiling.

The suite had been left empty after housing shifts in February, but the M.I.T. student, who was out of the building at the time of the fire, said last night he had been living in the room "for a few days" while searching for an apartment in Cambridge.

Mather students attempted to extinguish the fire, but soon agreed to call in Cambridge's finest to finish off the Smokey-the-Bear performance.