UPDATE: Students safely evacuated after fire at Alfred State College

An early morning fire forced the evacuation of hundreds of students from a dormitory at Alfred State College today. The alarm was triggered around 5 a.m. at the MacKenzie North building on Upper Drive when smoke was detected in a laundry room. Firefighters from Alfred and Alfred Station were quickly alerted. Jeff Luckey is the Director of the Allegany County Office of Emergency Management. Speaking only to Wellsville Regional News this afternoon, he described the fire as "relatively minor" and said there was no structural damage. He did say a piece of equipment sustained some damage and there was some smoke damage in the area. Luckey declined to speculate on the cause of the fire or whether or not it was considered suspicious, only saying that "it remains an active investigation." He said University Police have taken charge of the investigation and are being aided by Alfred Police and the Allegany County Fire Service. Investigators from the New York State Office of Fire Prevention and Control from the Binghamton and Syracuse offices also responded to the scene. Smoke was present when the first fire chief arrived at the scene. He said students were safely removed from the building and no injuries were reported. Physical evidence was secured at the scene. Students were allowed to return to the dorm about an hour after the blaze was dowsed although fire crews and investigators remained at the scene for about 6 1/2 hours. Luckey said the scene "had been cleared" and turned over to the college for cleanup and repair by noon.