BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) -- About 100 University of Vermont students were displaced, but none injured, by a fire that damaged a dormitory Sunday night.
''There won't be anyone living in there tonight,'' Burlington Fire Capt. Jim Woodman said. ''There's extensive damage from the heat and smoke. It got pretty warm in there.''
The building, called ''C-High,'' is part of the university's Living and Learning Center located off Main Street, east of University Heights.
The fire began in the first-floor student lounge, Woodman said. As firefighters were arriving at about 9 p.m., flames shot out the window.
Before firefighters were able to contain the fire, it had spread into another room. Eight other rooms had significant damage from heat and smoke. Woodman estimated there was $40,000 worth of damage.
The building did not have a sprinkler system installed, university spokesman Enrique Corredera said. A sprinkler system was scheduled to be installed next summer, he said.
All 100 students would spend the night at a hotel, Corredera said. Depending on how quickly the building could be ventilated, some students might be able to return Monday, he said.
The fire alarm drew many students from their room. Students were leaving, but without much urgency 19-year-old Kristen Costa said. There had been enough late-night false alarms to not stir a panic.
However, as Costa filed down the stairwell, smoke was visible. By the time Costa got outside, she could see the flames. She said students remained calm leaving the building. ''That's why they teach us this in preschool, I guess,'' Costa said.
Information from: The Burlington Free Press
