Students and faculty evacuated Devlin Hall on Wednesday afternoon due to smoke.
According to Associate Vice President for University Communications Jack Dunn, the smoke resulted from an issue with the electrical control box in the elevator shaft. No one was injured.
Minseo Cho, MCAS ’25, said she was in class when she first noticed a burning smell.
“My professor was telling us the syllabus, and then the fire alarm went off,” Cho said. “It smelled like plastic burning or PVC or any sort of rubber.”
Madeline Murphy, MCAS ’22, said she saw firetrucks clustered outside after leaving her class in Merkert.
“I thought … somebody might have gotten hurt or something,” Murphy said.
The Newton Fire Department and Boston College Police Department responded to the scene, according to Dunn, while students including Murphy waited outside.
Murphy’s professor emailed her class letting them know Newton police and fire were inside the building.
“He just said to hang tight for 10 minutes and if we don’t have the all clear they’ll update us,” she said.
Staff from BC Facilities Management helped ventilate the building, which was cleared to reopen at 1:40 p.m., Dunn said, but the elevator will stay closed for today.
“Stanley Electric remains on scene to inspect the elevator, which will remain off limits for the remainder of the day,” Dunn wrote.
Erin Flaherty contributed to the reporting. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
