Firefighters responded to the Loomis Laboratory of Physics, 1110 W. Green St. in Urbana, around 11:30 a.m. Monday when a fire occurred in the laboratory’s parking lot dumpster.

Smoke could be seen and smelled in the area. Two engines responded to put out the fire, and the fire was contained.

Chad Hensch, Urbana Fire Department division chief, said there wasn’t any damage other than the contents of what was in the dumpster.

Hensch said the fire was rather large and that they don’t know for sure what triggered the fire. They suspect it may have been a lit cigarette.

“The fire pretty much consumed all of the evidence,” he said.  “It’s hard to establish a burn pattern because everything in there was discarded.”

Hensch said they took the dumpster to the University Waste Transfer Station, poured out the burnt ends, spread some tobacco over them, but they really couldn’t distinguish what was inside.

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