The roof of Malott Hall on the University of Kansas campus was damaged by a fire Monday evening, according to a news release from Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical. There were no injuries reported.
Dispatch received a call reporting an odor of smoke just before 8:15 p.m. Monday and LDCFM was dispatched to investigate. The incident was upgraded to a structure fire after crews found a small fire in the roofing material outside the third floor, according to the release.
“Malott Hall was originally built in 1954 and over the recent years has had extension work to expand the building,” according to the release. “The footprint of the building currently spans approximately 332,000 square feet making the investigation difficult and labor intensive. The first arriving Fire Officer request for an additional fire apparatus to assist within 10 minutes of arriving.”
Eight units responded, and 24 firefighters extinguished the fire quickly. They spent another 30 minutes checking for fire extension, according to the release.
“Because of the size, the building’s standpipe system was used to connect firefighting hose to and extinguish the fire,” according to the release. “The standpipe is a vertical water piping system in stairwells use for firefighting in buildings of such as Malott Hall.”
The cause of the fire was under investigation by the State Fire Marshall’s office Tuesday morning, and no damage estimates were available, according to the release.
“We always want to remind the community to check your smoke detectors and ensure proper operation and replace batteries as needed,” LDCFM reminds.
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