Staff and faculty at the University of Manitoba are scrambling to assess what may have been lost during a fire in the Duff Roblin Building Saturday afternoon.
Fire officials peg damages at about $2 million, and PhD students and professors are worried about losing years of research.
The building houses classrooms and dozens of labs, as well as a zoology museum.
The fire was contained to the fourth floor, but officials say water damage from the firefighting efforts are extensive.
"The data and the amount of equipment that could have been destroyed potentially could be a big disaster," teaching assistant Ryan Szajkowski told CTV News.
He worked on the fourth floor of the building.
David Vancura also works in the building, he says some of his colleagues are working on their PhDs and have research stored in the labs.
"They've been working on this for four or five years, so if that data was destroyed, I can't imagine what they must be going through," he said.
The building is home to the bilogy sciences, textile sciences, and psychology departments.
Faculty members that CTV News spoke with say the only update they have so far is that their labs and offices are wet.
Fire officials say water seeped through every floor of the building and into the basement.
University officials say staff and students will have a chance to retrieve their belongings later this week.
Meanwhile students who have classes scheduled in the building will be relocated by Tuesday. Exams begin in three weeks and should not be affected.
Officials are holding a meeting for the hundreds of students who are affected by the building's closure Monday at 2 p.m. in the Manitoba Room on the second floor of University Centre.
They are also posting updates on relocation plans on the university's website.
Officials investigate cause
There is still no word on what may have caused the fire. It broke out at around noon Saturday and triggered a partial evacuation of the campus.
Fire officials said they were not taking any chances after learning the building housed more than 200 unknown and possibly dangerous chemicals.
Students were allowed back on campus Saturday evening.
With a report from CTV's Shaneen Robinson
