The Wichita Fire Department responded to a fire on the third floor of McKinley Hall late Monday afternoon. Despite the five firetrucks and over 30 firefighters that arrived at the scene, the fire was minor. 

In McKinley Room 301, a bowl in a fume hood caught fire after a heating instrument was left out too long, according to multiple students in the room. Lieutenant Jeremiah Williamson of the WFD said firefighters extinguished the fire by placing another object on top of the bowl to cut off oxygen.

“We found just a small pot that was on fire,” Williamson said. “We were able to just snuff it out.” 

Fire hoses were hooked up, but weren’t used. A tower ladder was used to lift firefighters up to the roof, but they did not need to cut any ventilation holes. 

“So when they do that (go up to the roof), it’s their primary job is — if this was a fire — they’d get up there and ventilate it,” Williamson said. “They’d cut a hole in the roof, so that’s what they were doing — prepping for that.”