A fire broke out early Sunday afternoon on the side of McDonough Field near Few and Evans Residence Halls.
Around 1:30 p.m., students evacuated Few and Evans after a fire alarm rang. As they crowded across the street from the buildings on Eagle Row, DeKalb Fire and Rescue arrived at the scene at 1:35 p.m. after someone pulled the fire alarm, according to Emory Police Lieutenant Cheryl Elliott.
Firefighters were able to contain the fire within a few minutes, she said.
She also said that there was no damage other than the damage to the ground and shrubbery.
Elliott said the exact cause of the fire is currently unknown, but an Emory Police Department (EPD) officer at the scene said it might have been started by a discarded cigarette.
College sophomore Shivani Patel said her and some other passersby near Few and Evans residence halls called 911 at 1:32 p.m. after noticing a small fire directly behind the fence in the passageway between the two halls. After the phone call, Patel said a student went inside and told a Resident Adviser (RA) on the first floor who then pulled the fire alarm.
College senior and RA of the fifth floor of Evans Hall Eduardo Garcia said he smelt the smoke all the way from the fifth floor. He said he assumed it was burnt popcorn from the kitchen, but then arrived at the ground floor to find the actual fire and firefighters extinguishing the fire.
"I remember thinking that everything seemed really under control, but it was still pretty scary to see a fire right next to our building," Garcia said.
– By Karishma Mehrotra
News Editor Nicholas Sommariva and Asst. Student Life Editor Jenna Kingsley contributed reporting.
