The Youngstown Fire Department was called to Buechner Hall on Monday after smoke was reported in the kitchen around 3:00 p.m.
“I opened the door; I ran in, and there was a bad smell. It smelled like wires burning,” said Roberta Whippo, an employee at Buechner. “We thought it was an exhaust fan, but it wasn’t all; our phones went down. We’re thinking now that it’s our [phone] system.”
Battalion Chief Terrance Jordan said that the cause of the fire was unknown.
“Actually, we don’t know [what caused the smoke]. They smelled smoke and tried to find the source of it, and we suspect it might be something with the phone system,” Jordan said.
All residents of the female-only dorm were evacuated, and no major damage is expected.
“Everybody has to be alerted; everybody has to be evacuated from the building, and nobody’s allowed back in until it’s cleared,” said Tricia Chervenak, an employee and resident at Buechner Hall.
A member of the Youngstown Fire Department at the scene said that the response time was about three minutes. The building was cleared by 3:30 p.m. and residents were able to return to their rooms.