Small fire forces evacuation of Winthrop dorm Thursday

Firefighters extinguished a small fire in a dorm room on the Winthrop University campus that forced the evacuation of 300 students Thursday morning, an official said.

The fire was called in around 7 a.m. in Richardson Hall, Deputy Chief Mark Simmons of the Rock Hill Fire Department said. The building’s sprinkler held the fire, which was isolated to one dorm room, in check until firefighters arrived.

No injuries were reported. Simmons said about 300 students were staying in the dorm for orientation and were evacuated.

There was minor fire damage to the one dorm room, and water damage caused by the sprinkler system, Simmons said.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

This story was originally published June 16, 2016 at 10:27 AM with the headline "Small fire forces evacuation of Winthrop dorm Thursday."