BURLINGTON — Multiple buildings in the University of Vermont’s STEM complex temporarily closed Friday because of a small chemical fire.
Firefighters responded to the UVM campus just before 11 a.m. after receiving a call about a fire in a lab at the Innovation and Discovery Halls. The fire department cleared the scene and the buildings reopened about two hours later, though classes there were canceled for the rest of the day.
The fire had self extinguished by the time firefighters arrived, according to Burlington Deputy Chief of Operations Aaron Collette.
One individual was brought to the emergency room with minor injuries, according to Collette. As of midday, he had no further updates on the individual’s condition.
The fire was contained to a hooded lab which has a blast shield and is in negative pressure, Collette said. The Vermont Hazardous Materials Response Team was called to assist in the proper management of any chemical materials, he said.
Firefighters had some concern about the potential for the fire to break out again as the conditions in the lab changed, which in part was why the state HAZMAT team supported the response, he said.
As of 11:45 a.m., Collette said everyone had left the building. Students received notification at 11:37 a.m. that classes were canceled in the buildings for the rest of the day.
The university announced that the buildings were cleared and reopened at 12:43 p.m.
Collette said there was no damage from the fire to the buildings.
Students leaving their classes in nearby buildings navigated around police tape at the scene, located at the center of campus.
Clayton Schroeder, a sophomore, was watching the first responders on scene while standing nearby with a group of friends. He said he was in a statics class in the STEM complex when he first heard the alarm go off around 10 a.m. He had a physics class in the same building later today, which had since been canceled.
Schroeder said he hasn’t heard any notifications from his professors, only the automated alert from UVM.
