Engineering Hall was evacuated Friday morning due to a now-extinguished fire in the building, according to a WiscAlert sent at 8:45 a.m.
The Madison Fire Department Investigation Team determined the cause of the fire was a result of maintenance work on one of the building’s air handling units, according to the Madison Fire Department. Workers were brazing a pipe when a spark made contact with a filter, causing the fire. When workers could not put the fire out with extinguishers, they pulled the building’s fire alarm.
All classes in Engineering Hall today are cancelled, according to an update from the College of Engineering. Classes and exams scheduled for Friday, Nov. 17 in the Mechanical Engineering Building, the Engineering Centers Building, the Materials Science and Engineering Building, the Engineering Research Building and 1410 Engineering Drive are also canceled.
Other classes located in Wendt Commons and other buildings on the University of Wisconsin campus will take place as scheduled, according to the update from the College of Engineering.
The first WiscAlert was sent at 7:50 a.m. asking the public to evacuate immediately, avoid the area and follow instructions from authorities. Subsequent WiscAlerts told the public to continue to avoid the area.
The fire was put out at 7:49 a.m, according to the MFD. Other air handling units caused smoke to enter other floors of the building, but the fire did not spread to other parts of the building. All fire crews cleared from the scene around 10:45 a.m.
The University of Wisconsin Police Department and MFD responded to the scene after a fire alarm was pulled, according to Channel 3000.
This is an active and ongoing story. This article will be updated with developments.