Residents of Nelson Hall were evacuated Wednesday night for more than an hour due to a fire that began on the third floor of the building.
According to Campus Safety (DCS) Information Officer Stephen Banet, the fire was reported and the building evacuated at 10:36 p.m. Students were re-admitted to the building at 11:24 p.m. after the area was cleared by Denver Fire Department (DFD) and DCS.
Banet said the fire began when a blanket was left in prolonged contact with a light in a room.
“The bunk beds were up kind of high, and the comforter on the bed fell into the light sconce,” said Banet. “Just from the heat of that and being in a confined area, it began to smolder.”
The fire did not produce any flames but Banet said there was some smoke damage done to the walls, as well as some damage from the chemicals used by DFD to put out the fire. There was no damage done outside of the room. There is not currently a damage cost estimate, according to Banet.
The residents of the damaged room were offered other temporary housing options by DCS, and were cleared to move back into the room on Thursday night after the walls were cleaned and repainted.
This is the first fire to be reported in a residential living area of DU in over a year, according to Banet.