Fire Breaks Out In UW Campus Laboratory

Fire broke out during a routine test of an engine at the Engineering Research Building (1500 Engineering Drive) Monday, sending Engine Company 4 to the UW-Madison campus.

A graduate student was working in the lab at the time of the fire. During full-throttle tests of an engine, he suddenly heard a “whoosh” and saw flames extending from one side of the engine. The building’s fire alarm system activated when four-foot flames climbed toward the ceiling. The researcher put out the fire with two extinguishers prior to evacuating the building. 

Firefighters, along with UW Safety, UWPD, and laboratory employees examined the scene, noting that a fuel line that feeds the engine snapped off and sprayed gasoline. As gasoline made contact with the extremely hot engine, the fuel ignited and caused around $1000 in fire damage. Nobody was injured during the incident.