A fire broke out in an elevator at the LaCiel apartment building, 515 University Ave., on Monday evening.
UW-Madison junior Mark Altstiel reported seeing flames covering the elevator floor when the door opened. He then called 911.
I pressed up and it opened up and there were flames on the floor like two feet tall,\ Altstiel said.
The fire, which occured at 6:30 p.m., prompted a full evacuation of the 10-story building, and firefighters and police were subsequently called to the scene.
Firefighters reported the flames were extinguished by the sprinkler system, which subsequently flooded the basement.
Although the official cause of the fire had not been established as of press time, an employee of LaCiel speculated it was started deliberately. He did not believe the fire was electrical because the lighting in the elevator was functional and the flames were not blue in color.
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