A three-alarm fire Thursday at the Dickinson Research Center on the Lincoln University campus caused considerable damage to the structure.
According to LU officials, the fire was noticed by two men walking near the Jefferson City High School campus around 11 a.m.
They noticed fire coming from the roof of the 33 year-old building on Chestnut Street - south of Dwight Reed Stadium and north of Leslie Boulevard - and notified LU officials who were able to make sure everyone who was working inside the plant science facility got out. Between five to ten persons were working in the building at the time.
Jefferson City Fire Department officials said when crews arrived at the scene, they found smoke coming from the rear of the structure.
They put out what fire they could and decided to back out to re-evaluate how to attack the blaze.
The fire was found to have started on the rear exterior loading dock.
Since it is on state property, the state fire marshal's office assisted in the investigation and determined that the origin of the blaze was where some testing for bio charcoal was taking place in a wood splitter. However, it was unclear whether the fire began in the splitter, electrical wiring or the outlet the splitter was connected to.
This was one of the more difficult fires for JCFD to battle in recent years.
The fire went from the exterior dock, up the wall of the building and into the roof line, which made finding hot spots very hard so they could be extinguished.
Fire crews were on the scene until about 3:45 p.m. and crews from Cole County Fire Protection District were called to help staff stations for calls in the city during the day.
One firefighter was treated for minor injuries at a local hospital, then released.
Cole County EMS and Emergency Management crews also were on the scene with cooling centers, to make sure the firefighters were kept hydrated - since temperatures were in the upper 90s.
Because the fire was at a research center, there were concerns about chemical exposure and - although there wasn't a large quantity of chemicals on site - there were many different types of chemicals.
Ultimately, officials said, the chemicals caused no problems for firefighters battling the blaze.
Fire officials did not have a dollar estimate on damage to the structure, which occurred from one end of the building to the other.
Earlier coverage:
Jefferson City firefighters responded to the scene of a fire at the Lincoln University Dickinson Research Center just before noon Thursday.
Two individuals near Jefferson City High School saw the flames at the research center and reported it to the Jefferson City Fire Department.
The research center, which is located off Chestnut Street on the LU campus, is used for plant science research and experiments.
Heavy plumes of smoke were showing when firefighters arrived late Thursday morning. Those in the building at the time of the fire were evacuated safely, fire officials said.
The fire was located in the roof of the building.