Sprinkler Helps Control Fire in Iowa University Building

IOWA CITY — A possible chemical fire that investigators believe was sparked at 3 a.m. Wednesday in the University of Iowa’s Chemistry Building caused more than $100,000 in damage, officials are reporting.

The blaze originated on the building’s fifth floor and might have started in a container where students and faculty dispose of sharp items, like syringes with needles, according to UI police.

A sprinkler system helped contain the blaze, but water damage occurred on the building’s fifth, fourth, and third floors, and preliminary estimates have damage totals in excess of $100,000, UI police report. No one was injured in the fire.

Faculty and staff who work in the affected areas have been relocated until crews complete repairs, which could take several days, officials report. The cause of the fire remains under investigation, but UI police believe it could have involved the ignition of chemicals.

The UI Chemistry Building is five stories and located on the east side of campus, along north Capitol Street. It has historical value, representing a shift in campus architecture that was taking place at the time of its construction in 1922.

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