In March 1952 the east wing of the Jessie Harris Building was damaged by an early-morning fire. Two silver services were melted; silver tableware, linens, and china were damaged. The fire was caused by a defective refrigerator in the workshop of the Foods Department, and rooms on the first and third floors were damaged by fire and smoke. The dining room, decorated by W. J. Sloan of New York was one of the fire-damaged rooms. The room was completed in 1937 and had been visited at various times by all the governors of Tennessee in office since its completion. The laboratories and other rooms had to be rebuilt and reequipped (at a cost of $75,000) and were not ready for use until fall 1953.
In 1970 as the fourth floor of the 1959 addition was being renovated to provide additional space for research and graduate study, fire broke out, started by welders. The roof and attic were damaged.