Emergency responders extinguished a fire in a dumpster outside Clara Dickson Hall on North Campus early Sunday evening. The Ithaca Fire Department reportedly had the situation under control by 6 p.m, according to emergency radio reports.
The fire was noticed by a residential advisor in Clara Dickson Hall, who then immediately informed Zac Helsper, resident hall director, of the situation. Helsper, who noticed smoke outside emerging behind Dickson Hall, then called IFD and Cornell University Police Department for assistance.
“Zac sent me to go back and make sure that the residents stayed far away [from the fire],” said Sam Rivera, assistant resident hall director of the Multicultural Living Learning Unit.
Meanwhile, firefighters propped a ladder to the dumpster to climb in, taking several items out as they searched for the source of the fire.
CUPD officers present at the scene declined to comment on the source of the fire due to ongoing investigation.
Several students, having noticed the fire from their dorms, gathered outside Dickson Hall to check out the dumpster. Some of the students who were evacuated from Dickson Hall had their textbooks and notebooks with them, and began studying outside as CUPD and IFD investigated the cause of the fire.
Original Author: Manu Rathore