Ball State University Police Officer Eric Reffitt stood 30 feet from a burning bush Tuesday afternoon waiting for the Muncie Fire Department to show up.
The smoldering bush was near a former smoking area behind Pruis Hall, which had been removed from a list of approved smoking areas earlier this school year, reducing the number of approved areas from 12 to 11.
Earlier in the day, new mulch had been laid around the bush, which may have also contributed to the fire, Reffitt said. He said some students had put water on it, but there was still a low flame.
"This probably happens more than we think or know," he said. "I'd rather get here before it turns into something bigger than it is now."
Ten minutes after Reffitt arrived, around 5:20 p.m., MFD came to put out the fire.
Firefighter Pat O'Brien drug the smoldering mulch away from the bush before dowsing it with water.
"I think the plant's going to die," Reffitt said.
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