 "Photo: Shaun Stewart | Daily Texan Staff")
The Austin Fire Department extinguished flames at Dobie Center at 21st and Guadalupe streets Saturday morning. More than 900 residents were temporarily displaced.
Firefighters put out the blaze on the center's pool deck and allowed residents to return to their rooms shortly after 3 a.m. The deck around the pool area burned and collapsed.
Investigators estimated the damage to the building at $600,000, but have not yet determined the cause of the fire.
Businesses in Dobie Mall were open on Saturday, although water damage forced the Dobie Theatre to cancel some screenings. Dehumidifiers and fans were running throughout the mall over the weekend.
Hundreds of students gathered along Guadalupe and 21st streets to watch the blaze, and the Perry-Castañeda Library was temporarily opened to house evacuated residents.
Marketing senior Randall Clark said he and his friends were on Whitis Avenue and were the first to see the fire and call 911.
"I could smell smoke inside the car and saw an orange reflection on the Harry Ransom Center," Clark said.
"The smoke was clear, and then the winds came, and it started growing. It got really pitch black," said government senior Dwayne Shorter, the driver of the car.
Business junior and Dobie resident Colin Huong said he had just gone to bed when he heard the fire alarm. He said he hesitated to evacuate because weeks ago a food vendor had accidently set the alarm off. When the alarm stayed on, Huong said he grabbed his keys, wallet and Dobie ID, and quickly left.
The 27-story tower suffered only minor smoke damage, according to firefighters. Residents reported smoke filling stairwells as high as the 24th floor.
Austin Fire Department Battalion Chief Palmer Buck said the fire was aided by winds gusting up to 30 mph that carried flames up to 15 feet.
Residents on upper floors expressed concern that they did not hear the fire alarms and only saw flashing lights when they left their rooms, which prompted some to pull the alarm to alert others on their floor.
AFD Capt. Rob Bredahl said those alarms should not have activated, because the fire was not inside the tower. Bredahl said that once an alarm is pulled, it sounds on that floor and adjacent floors first to keep the stairwells clear for those closest to the danger.
Emergency response officials blocked traffic on Guadalupe Street from 20th to 22nd streets Saturday morning. Approximately 17 fire trucks and 10 ambulances responded to the incident.
Paramedics responded to a student with a sprained ankle inside the University Catholic Center, where several students had gathered to wait for permission to return inside.
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