AMES, Iowa -- A fire in Iowa State University's power plant is causing disruptions to the campus-wide cooling system as all of Iowa bakes under an ongoing heat wave.
ISU says classes on the Ames campus are moving online where possible for the rest of Thursday and all of Friday.
They say students should check email and online for information from their instructors.
The school also says students living on campus who can, should go home for the weekend--that it's also working on ways to help students who need to stay on campus.
Iowa State also says all activities for Thursday are being canceled.
The Ames Fire Department has released additional information.
Ames firefighters arrived at 10:44 this (Thursday) morning, to a fire in the basement of the ISU Power Plant at 116 Beach Road. The fire department says ISU staff had previously put out a small fire caused by equipment malfunction. Ames Fire Chief Rich Higgins says as crews examined the area, the malfunctioning equipment experienced a complete failure and ignited operating oil that was connected to it. The fire spread and crews upgraded the alarm and called in extra fire units.
The alarm system alerted employees who were safely evacuated and there were no injuries.
HIggins says the fire was out by 11:42 a.m. There's been no damage estimate yet.
“This fire was particularly difficult to fight because the situation changed very quickly as the equipment’s operating oil provided a large fuel source,” said Ames Fire Chief Rich Higgins. “Fighting a fire in the lower level of the facility coupled with the exceptionally hot temperatures created challenges, but Ames firefighters did an outstanding job.”
Photo: Ames Fire Department