Hours before classes started Wednesday, almost 2,000 Ball State University students - some in their pajamas or less - found themselves standing out in the chilly air after waking to the blare of fire alarms and public safety personnel banging on doors.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Muncie Fire Department was investigating the cause of a fire that began at about 4 a.m. in a small employees' break room near classrooms in the lowest level of the building, Muncie fire inspector David Miller said.
All 1,900 students living in LaFollette - the largest complex on campus - had to evacuate the five residence halls that make up the complex.
Freshman LaFollette resident Alex Barnes said the evacuation went well and the students did not have to wait in the cold for too long before they were allowed into Worthen Arena. Barnes said he saw many people who were underdressed for the temperature, including one student who was in his underwear and wrapped in a blanket.
Tony Proudfoot, associate vice president of marketing and communications, said resident assistants took head counts of all of the students on their floors after they got them out of the building. The students then moved to Worthen Arena to keep warm until they received the OK to return to LaFollette shortly after 8 a.m.
It took about 30 minutes to move everyone from LaFollette to Worthen Arena, Proudfoot said. Paramedics treated one student for possible smoke inhalation, but there were no other injuries, he said.
"The process went very well," Proudfoot said.
Staff from the American Red Cross and the Ball State Department of Intercollegiate Athletics helped by providing hot cocoa and food to the students while they waited.
"We did all we could to make sure everyone was comfortable," Proudfoot said.
The provost's office issued a memo to deans and department chairs asking them to encourage faculty to be sensitive toward any LaFollette residents they had in their classes.
"These students lost a lot of sleep in addition to the trauma they experienced," Associate Provost Marilyn Buck wrote in the memo. "I am sure that their parents were concerned this morning when they heard about the fire - first for the safety of their children and then for the class responsibilities and expectations they may have in their classes today."
Miller said the fire apparently began beneath a sink in the break room's kitchenette. After speaking with employees who were in the room before the fire started, investigators believe the fire was caused by human error, Miller said.
"There's nothing that indicates it was intentional," he said, "(but) there probably had to be some type of human involvement."
Most of the fire's damage contained to the break room, which had heavy door that could have prevented the flames from spreading, Miller said.
The heat caused a pipe to burst, which flooded the hallways near the room, he said.
Proudfoot said the classrooms, which are mainly for 100-level English courses, near the fire's location would be closed until the area is cleaned and repaired. The university is trying to finish the clean-up by the end of Thanksgiving Break.
In the meantime the more than 100 classes that used LaFollette's basement have been relocated, he said. Ball State released a schedule of class relocations Wednesday evening, which can be found on Ball State's Web site.
Tommy Conroy contributed to this report
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