By Elliott Nace | Assistant News Editor
The Baylor Police Department and Waco Fire responded to a small, isolated fire in Brooks Flats Friday afternoon and temporarily evacuated students in the building.
The fire directly damaged an apartment before emergency crews and Brooks Flats’ fire suppression system contained it. Fire suppression and smoke subsequently damaged other surrounding apartments. No injuries were reported.
In a statement, Baylor spokesperson Lori Fogleman said the Baylor Police Department and Waco Fire Department responded immediately at 1:14 p.m. to the activation of the fire alarm at Brooks Flats.
“When first responders arrived, they discovered a small but active fire in a single apartment that appeared to have started on a stovetop,” the statement reads. “The building’s safety systems functioned as intended, including the fire alarm quickly notifying emergency personnel and the activation of the fire suppression system, which contained the fire in the one apartment.”
Cedar Park freshman and Brooks Flats resident Brett Ostermiller heard from his roommates via text that a fire had broken out “on the girls’ side of the building,” and that fire trucks had arrived.
“I came back here, nobody was let inside the building, but obviously it hasn’t burned down, so I guess everything’s all right,” Ostermiller said.
In messages sent via GroupMe to residents around 1:30 p.m., Brooks Flats Residence Hall Director Ivan Anaya told students to leave the building if they had not already.
“There has been a fire reported and it is being contained,” a second message sent by Anaya said. “Once I receive the all clear from WPD/WFD I will send a message.”
Rochester, Minnesota, freshman Maddie Buehler, a Brooks College resident, did not see the fire, but returned to find students “outside in the courtyard, just in a big huddle.”
“I asked someone what happened, and they’re like, ‘I see a cop walking into Brooks Flats,’ and they’re like, ‘Oh, there was a fire,’” Buehler said. “One of my friends, it was on her floor, but she doesn’t know what started it. There’s this huge leak now.”
After getting out of class, Spring Branch freshman and Brooks Flats resident Nancy Wean saw first responders outside the building and said her roommate was inside when the fire began.
“[My roommate] said that the fire alarm went off, and then [residents] got told they had to evacuate to the volleyball field behind the building,” Wean said. “So they did, and then we heard later that it was a fire on the third floor, which is [in the room] right above ours. It started from an oven getting turned on, and then it spread to the microwave and melted the oven and the microwave.”
Wean soon learned the fire response efforts damaged her apartment.
“From what I know, [Waco Fire] just had to come and put it out with a bunch of water, which leaked through [the upper apartment’s] floor into our floor,” she said. “There’s just three rooms that got impacted on our floor, and they’re just going to dry out the rooms, suck the water out and we just have to relocate for about three or four days.”
Additional damage response from TDIndustries, BELFOR Property Restoration and Impact Fire Services arrived soon after the containment.
According to Fogleman, cleanup of smoke and water damage within Brooks Flats has already begun.
“Campus Living & Learning is working closely with residents directly affected to provide assistance and support,” the statement said.
Fogleman thanked the BUPD and Waco Fire “for their immediate response and commitment to campus safety.”
“Their prompt actions, combined with the building’s safety systems, helped prevent further damage and ensured the well-being of all residents and staff,” she said.
