The students living in the Towers at Centennial Square and Science and Technology Theme Community dorms were evacuated Thursday afternoon after a fire in one of the trash rooms set off the alarms.

“It wasn’t enough to set off the sprinklers, just set off the smoke detector,” said firefighter Chief Kirk Richardson. “We aren’t going to do a huge arson investigation on a trashcan fire. If we have multiple trashcan fires, then we will look at it seriously.”

Firefighters evacuated the building to clear the smoke and reset the alarms, said Richardson.

Students heard an announcement over the intercom in the dorms shortly after 4 p.m. instructing them to exit the building. Some ignored the warning until they smelled the smoke.

“My roommates said they heard the fire alarm, but we didn’t pay any mind to it,” said Towers resident Anjai Hester. “So (my roommates) went into the hallway and they smelled the fire so we rushed and ran down the steps really fast.”

Residential Life staff told students they wouldn’t be allowed back in for at least another hour and to leave the surrounding area. Students living in STTC were allowed back into their rooms at around 5:30 p.m.