Students in Indiana University’s new J. Irwin Miller Architecture Program in The Republic building evacuated during class after a burning electrical smell filled the building.
About 20 students milled about or sat in the building’s parking lot at 333 Second St. at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday as Columbus firefighters climbed on the roof and searched the basement seeking the source of the smell. The fire run was dispatched as a possible structure fire.
Columbus Fire Department Battalion Chief Dan Cleland allowed the students to go inside the building at about 6:15 p.m. to retrieve laptops and other personal items as class was over for the day and students then went home.
“This is a high-visibility program and there is high-dollar equipment inside this building,” Cleland said, adding that firefighters were aggressive in the search when they arrived because of the building’s importance.
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The iconic all-glass former Republic building was built in 1971 and named a National Historic Landmark in 2012. After being vacant for about 18 months, the building opened as a learning space for IU architectural students.
Firefighters used thermal imaging cameras and were inspecting the electrical systems throughout the building to try to determine a cause of the electrical smell. They were focusing on an electrical transformer relay that may have burned, firefighters said.
T. Kelly Wilson, director of the graduate studies program for the university in Columbus, said firefighters had just done an inspection on Monday as renovation continues on the building.
Student Stacy Hardy, who hopes to have her own architectural firm one day, said the students were working on projects in the studio when they smelled the electrical burning odor and the evacuation ensued. Staff members in their office joined in the evacuation, Wilson said.
