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Fire officials responded on Thursday afternoon to a fire at the Iowa Advanced Technology Laboratories. The fire’s cause is still under investigation.
According to a press release from the University of Iowa Campus Safety, there were no injuries reported, and the fire is not expected to affect the day-to-day operations in the building.
A Hawk Alert went out at 1:29 p.m. to the UI community advising students to “avoid the area” and “follow on scene first responder directions.” While firefighters were responding, students gathered at the IMU patio, taking photos and videos of the scene.
Rod Lehnertz, UI senior vice president for finance and operations and campus architect, said at the scene that fire officials are accessing the location of the fire.
“We do not know the cause at this point that will be part of [first responders] investigation, and obviously from a risk mitigation and insurance process we will be working with them to assess the causes related to it,” Lehnertz said.
Fire officials tore off panels of the building to access its inner walls. The building was designed by renowned architect Frank Gehry. The lab is also being renovated for an estimated $4 million to address the weather barrier that sits behind the wall’s metal panels that decorate the building.
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UI physics and astronomy assistant professor Thomas Folland said he smelled smoke inside and saw panels on the outside of the lab burning.
“About five to 10 minutes beforehand, we kind of smelled smoke inside — I suppose [it was] a bit smokey but wasn’t super strong. I thought someone put something funny in the microwave kind of smell,” Folland said. “We came out here and saw the panels smoking.”
The building houses the Atmospheric and Environmental Research Lab, Fiegel Lab, Laser Materials Processing Lab, Toor Lab, and the Syed Mubeen Research Group.
Lehnertz said there was some damage to the lab exterior, but no damage was reported beyond the entryway where the fire originated.
Graduate research assistant Saeideh Mohammadi, who was in the building during the fire, said that she could smell something on the first floor.
“After a few minutes we heard the alarm saying to leave the building,” Mohammadi said.