55 people evacuated after Urbana apartment building catches fire

URBANA, Ill. (WAND) - 55 people were evacuated from an apartment building in Urbana that caught fire Monday.

The Urbana Fire Department was called to the Steer Place apartments in the 1200 block of E. Harding Drive at 5:41 for a fire alarm sounding in the whole building.

Heavy smoke was coming from the 5th floor of the 6-story building when crews arrived.

The first crew requested a second alarm. Firefighters quickly located and extinguished a fire on the 1st floor in the trash container that extended up the trash chute to the second floor.

The sprinkler system on the second floor was activated and kept the fire contained to the trash room.

Firefighters searched the upper five floors to evacuate about 55 people. In total, there were about 35 firefighters from the Urbana and Champaign Fire Departments that responded.

The fire was under control within 30 minutes.

There were no injuries, and no residents were displaced.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.