Crews extinguish fires at two UIUC buildings

fire truck
Urbana Fire truck sits outside of the Transportation Building at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign on October 24, 2025.

URBANA – Investigators are trying to find the cause of two building fires at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Around 12:20 p.m. on Friday, crews responded to a fire in a steam tunnel under the Transportation building at 104 S. Mathews Avenue in Urbana. An Illini Alert was issued for people to avoid the area at 12:42 p.m.

In a news release, Urbana Fire Department Deputy Chief Steve Doggett said the flames were brought under control in less than a half hour. No injuries were reported.

The building is the primary home to Industrial and Enterprise Systems Engineering. It was turned back over to the University of Illinois Facilities and Services personnel. An Illini Alert said the emergency ended at 2:56 p.m.

While wrapping up the Transportation Building fire, METCAD received several calls from the Lincoln Avenue Residence Hall at 1005 S. Lincoln Avenue in Urbana.

Around 2:30 p.m. on Friday, crews responded to a fire on the second floor of the building. The fire was extinguished in 20 minutes.

Dozens of student residents were seen sitting on the lawns near the residence hall. No injuries were reported.

An Illini Alert declaring the emergency over at 4:09 p.m.

residence hall fire
Emergency crews respond to a fire at the Lincoln Avenue Residence Hall in Urbana on October 24, 2025. (Reginald Hardwick/IPM News)
residence hall
Emergency crews respond to a fire at the Lincoln Avenue Residence Hall in Urbana on October 24, 2025. (Reginald Hardwick/IPM News)

 

Reginald Hardwick

Reginald Hardwick is the News & Public Affairs Director at Illinois Public Media. He oversees daily newscasts and online stories. He also manages The 21st Show, a live, weekday talk show that airs on six NPR stations throughout Illinois. He is the executive producer of IPM's annual environmental TV special "State of Change." And he is the co-creator of Illinois Soul, IPM's Black-focused audio service that launched in February 2024. Before arriving at IPM in 2019, he served as News Director at WKAR in East Lansing and spent 17 years as a TV news producer and manager at KXAS, the NBC-owned station in Dallas/Fort Worth. Reginald is the recipient of three Edward R. Murrow regional awards, seven regional Emmy awards, and multiple honors from the National Association of Black Journalists. Born in Vietnam, Reginald grew up in Colorado and is a graduate of the University of Northern Colorado. Email: rh14@illinois.edu Twitter: @RNewsIPM