This morning, Scott Hall residents had to evacuate the building located at 202 E. Peabody Ave. due to a potentially hazardous odor that was being emitted.

The Champaign Fire Department was called at 9:04 a.m. with complaints of an irritating smell and firefighters started evacuating the building at 9:12 a.m. The source of the odor was an overheated battery backup to a computer that runs the building’s phone system, Deputy Chief Tim Wild said.

The battery was 150 degrees and emitting an odor that smelled like sulfuric acid, but was found to be hydrogen gas, Wild added.

The basement was then isolated and ventilated. The Champaign Telephone Company that owns the equipment for the building’s phone system arrived on the scene and cut the power to the battery.

Residents were allowed back in the building shortly after. Wild said he is unsure how many residents were in the building at the time of the evacuation.