KIRKSVILLE, MO -- A rude awakening for hundreds of students on Truman State University's campus. Just after 2:50 a.m. on Tuesday, fire crews were called to Centennial Hall on Franklin Street. There were reports of visible smoke and fire. All the residents were evacuated and led across the street to the Student Union Building to escape the freezing temperatures.
When crews arrived they found a fire in room 463. One student said there were some signs of a fire. “We could smell smoke on the fourth floor, but nothing else," said Joe Grothe, a resident of Centennial Hall.
Battalion Chief Marc Jefferson said that an investigator from the Mo. State Fire Marshal's Office declared the cause of the fire as electrical. Jefferson said that a mattress caught fire that was next to an electrical outlet.
The two females who live in the room were not present when the blaze broke out. A DPS officer who suffered from smoke inhalation was the only person reported injured. After crews extinguished the fire, most of the students were allowed to return to their rooms.
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