November 5 2008
Students residing in Cromwell Hall were evacuated for approximately three hours as a result of the incident, which resulted in minor injuries to two students.
Damage was confined to a single room on the top floor of the 12-story building, although some minor smoke and water damage occurred elsewhere on that floor, according to the university's Office of Public Safety.
Two female students suffered smoke inhalation, according to Public Safety Director Bill Mercier. One student was treated at the scene while the other was taken to nearby Union Hospital where she was treated and released.
The fire was reported at 7:25 p.m. Students living in the building were taken to the university's Hulman Memorial Student Union while Terre Haute firefighters extinguished the fire and assessed the safety of the building. Those residing below the 12th floor were allowed to return to their rooms around 9:15 p.m. University officials were arranging accommodations in other residence halls for students on the 12th floor.
While the cause of the fire remains under investigation, it is believed to have been accidental, Mercier said.
Constructed in 1964, Cromwell Hall is part of the four-unit Sycamore Towers complex on the southwest side of the Indiana State campus. It houses approximately 390 freshmen students.
Media contact and writer: Dave Taylor, media relations director, Office of Communications and Marketing, Indiana State University, 812-237-3743 or email@example.com
Two Indiana State University students were treated for smoke inhalation following a fire on the 12th floor of Cromwell Hall Wednesday evening. The fire remains under investigation, but is believed to have been accidental.