Students back in Rutgers Camden dorm after smoky fire

A Rutgers Camden dormitory complex that houses more than 500 people was evacuated Saturday afternoon after a fire started in the first-floor laundry room of a 10-story residence hall.

There were no injuries from the two-alarm fire, which apparently started in a clothes dryer around 4 p.m. and produced a lot of smoke, said Michael Sepanic, a university spokesman. The fire was brought under control in about a half-hour, he said.

All the residents were permitted to return Saturday night, Sepanic said. Most students who live in the dorm, located on the 300 block of Cooper Street, go home on weekends, he said.

Anesis Kim, 18, a freshman English student from Mount Laurel, said she was in her third-floor room when smoke began to flow up the stairwell and an alarm went off. "I got pretty paranoid," she said.

Like many students, she waited in the Campus Center for word on when she could return to her room.

"A lot of people are upset," she said. "They don't know if their things are OK."