Grace Hall residents evacuated the building twice Wednesday night because of a fire in the elevator equipment room. Fire department officials said the fire started because the hydraulic fluid pressure built up, causing the pump to overheat.

Michael Cowdery and Jill Schleicher were working at the Grace desk during the time of the fire. Cowdery said the elevator had been out of service for about half the day. Cowdery said the fire department told him the escalation of the fire was very fast.

“It started to smell a little bit before the alarms went off, and we went outside,” Schleicher said.

The first alarm went off at 10 p.m. and Public Safety arrived at the scene within minutes. The fire department came at 10:15 p.m. with four fire trucks and a department vehicle.

Doors were propped open to let the smell of burnt rubber out of the building.

Freshman Hailey Roberts knew the fire was not a drill.

“It was really cool. I walked over to McCarthy [gym] and watched,” she said. She also said she took pictures on her phone and sent them to family members.

Alarms went off again at 10:59 p.m. Residents evacuated the building again, but this time some were prepared with coats and blankets. Others went inside Cretin Hall to wait until the building was cleared to enter. Outdoor temperatures were 47 degrees with 9 mph winds.

Public Safety arrived at Grace within a minute of the second alarm. Four fire trucks arrived at 11:10 p.m. At 11:18 p.m., residents were allowed back in the building again.

The doors to access the elevators have been closed on every floor. The elevator is now out of service.

Theresa Malloy can be reached at mall5754@stthomas.edu.