Several firefighters, EMTs and University Police responded to smoke in The Commons Sunday evening caused by the building's heating system, according to an on-the-scene official.
Jessica Corcoran, a manager at The Commons' Starbucks, notified authorities after she and her co-workers smelled smoke in the first floor lobby.
"We noticed smoke out in The Commons," Corcoran said. "When we walked out, I saw a white haze and called the police."
Corcoran "called someone to come check it out." A few minutes after she called, several fire trucks from the Getzville and North Bailey Fire Departments arrived as well as an ambulance team and campus police officers.
Fire fighters erected a ladder to climb the front wall of the building and inspected the roof, but had found no sign of the source of the smoke. They then searched the ceiling and light fixtures from the inside.
"We're still investigating," said Fire Chief Ray Fiegl, who noticed a "light haze of smoke in the building" and suspected the heating system of the building to be at fault.
After the initial inspection was completed, Fiegl reported that the heating unit on the first floor was the cause of the smoke.
"It could be a motor, a belt, anything. We've handled many in the past like this."
The Commons was temporarily evacuated, but no one was hurt and no property was damaged according to Fiegl.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
