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Atchison college campus fire battled quickly Tuesday night

By Brian Hagen

06/14/2023

(KAIR)--A Tuesday night fire at the Benedictine College Dining Hall was extinguished rapidly, keeping the fire from spreading to the building's structure.

That's according to Atchison Fire Chief Patrick Weishaar who, in a release, says when Atchison fire fighters arrived on the scene, around 8:30 Tuesday night, “they found heavy black smoke coming from the roof,” then “quickly made entry into the smoke-filled building” where they found, after “a rapid search,” “an industrial dish washing machine engulfed in fire spreading to adjacent equipment.”

The sprinkler system in the building had been activated, but the fire had grown beyond its capability, with fire fighters “able to quickly extinguish the fire,” shut down the sprinkler system, and minimize damage, with specialized power fans utilized to clear the smoke from the building.

Weishaar, in the release, says no one was hurt, despite a large number of summer camp students on campus at the time of the fire. He credits the work of the fire fighters, saying their quick actions averted the fire from spreading, with the cafeteria connected to the currently only sparsely occupied Guadalupe Hall dormitory, with Weishaar calling the entire complex “a center piece of campus and a vital part of the college.”

Fire crews remained on the scene well into Tuesday night, with an investigation ongoing to determine the exact cause of the fire.

Atchison County EMS and Atchison Police also responded to the college to assist.

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