A fire in a dumpster in front of 306 E. Green St. was extinguished shortly after an Illini-Alert was sent out early Saturday morning.

Green Street was blocked by emergency responders between Third and Fourth streets while firefighters extinguished the flames that started in a dumpster in front of the Roland Realty apartment building.

An alert was sent out around 12:15 a.m. saying there was a fire; another alert was sent out about 20 minutes later saying it had been extinguished. An alert was sent saying the emergency was over just before 1:30 a.m.

Taylor Warren, junior in Engineering, was in his room above the dumpster when the fire broke out.

“I went on my balcony, and it was on fire,” Warren said. “I heard pounding on my doors and we were the last people out.”

Warren said firefighters told him there might be some electrical damage to his apartment.

Dan Berger, sophomore in DGS, was on the second story of the building when police evacuated the building.

“We grabbed as much as we could and grabbed everything,” he said, adding that police were the first to arrive at the scene. “It’s kind of nerve-wracking seeing your apartment going up in flames and seeing no firetrucks.”

Berger said he was told by a Roland Realty representative that residents would be staying in a hotel tonight. According to Berger, Roland Realty will reimburse residents for the hotel stay.

Capt. Wayne Huckstadt of the Champaign Fire Department said the department is assuming that the fire started in the dumpster. He added that there was not apparent fire damage to the interior of the apartments. The balconies of the eastern apartments in the building were singed by flames that rose from the dumpster.

“It’s not uncommon, especially this time of year (when dumpsters are out),” Huckstadt said.

While the fire marshal will investigate the cause of the fire, Huckstadt said he doubts anything could have dropped from the apartments.

Brandon Jones, a server at IHOP – adjacent to the apartment – said he called 911 when he saw flames coming from behind the building while serving a table near a window.

Jones said the restaurant was evacuated when he called 911 and that his first thought was that “I’m not getting paid any more money tonight.”

Huckstadt said dumpster fires are difficult to extinguish because flammable items can be hidden underneath the refuse.

“Just be aware of what you’re putting into a dumpster,” Huckstadt said. “Try to keep flammable items out of it.”