BEATRICE – Firefighters were sent to a college campus in southeast Nebraska Wednesday night, where a fire broke out in the basement of a residence hall.


Beatrice Firefighters were sent to Homestead Hall at 5:48 p.m., on the campus of Southeast Community College. Students are on winter break, but SCC Security and Safety Coordinator Mark Meints says about 20 students, including student-athletes, were evacuated from the building to the adjacent Kennedy Center.


Acting Fire Captain Nate Koch explains what firefighters encountered.. "The cause of the fire was a floor cleaner that was downstairs in a storage unit....it was plugged into the wall. Luckily, it was right by a sprinkler head that was activated, that essentially extinguished the fire."


Audible and visual alarms could be heard and seen at the residence hall….the newest one on the SCC Beatrice Campus. The fire occurred in a kitchen and laundry area, in the basement. Koch said smoke spread throughout the basement and also reached all three upper floors. Teams of firefighters were using pressure vans to remove the smoke throughout the building.


"The floor cleaner is completely gone....and there's a lot of water damage downstairs due to the sprinkler head being activated."


Eight firefighters were on scene. A pumper truck and ambulance were sent to the campus. The fire vehicles were back in service, by 7:15 p.m. Firefighters remained on scene to meet with a Nebraska Fire Marshal investigator, who was summoned to the campus.


There were no injuries. Any fire damage was confined to the small area in the basement. The Fall Semester at SCC ended December 13th…..and students return for the full Spring Semester….on January 21st.