Four fire trucks filled with 30 firemen were called to extinguish a fire at 1:57 p.m. on Friday that broke out in Baker Hall West, in a resident’s first floor room.
The resident, cooking a Chef Boyardee product in his microfridge, turned around to see the microwave’s control panel engulfed in flames. A resident hall staff member used a fire extinguisher to douse the flames until fire officials could arrive.
“Probably 300 students evacuated,” said Ohio State police officer Scott Tipton. “Somebody had the presence of mind to shut the fire doors. The smoke and fire damage was limited to one room – the microwave actually.”
Matt Kremens, a freshman in industrial design, was in his room on the first floor of Baker Hall West when the fire broke out. As he and his roommate were exiting the building, the hallways were thick with smoke, Kremens said. He saw no flames, he said.
The students who occupy the room went home for the weekend, which allowed the resident hall staff a chance to clean the smoke damage and get the bed linens dry cleaned, said Steven Kremer, director of Residence Life. Kremer also said the university is going to have experts look at the microfridge units to determine the problem and contact the manufacturer because the appliance is in every dorm room on campus.
Katie McDevitt, a freshman in fine arts and a fourth floor resident, said when she returned to her room after the evacuation the only thing that appeared out of the ordinary was that the first floor smelled of cleaning solution.
The cause of the fire appears to be an electrical short. Other than the damage to the room, the hallway carpet was scorched as firemen removed charred debris, said fire Chief Mark Devine.
