"It was an issue in our environmental lab. It was the autoclave that had a lack of appropriate water during use," Taylor said. "There were no injuries. The fire manager didn't know there was an issue with the autoclave."

Joseph Nguyen, the manager of the lab at the time, echoed that statement.

"Some of the steam from the autoclave started it.  When you start the autoclave it heats up and boils the water,"  Nguyen said.  "I don't know what started it and I'm trying to find out right now."

Students waited outside for about 40 minutes before they were let back into the building.

"They let us in at 11:40 (after) they kicked us out at 11," chemical engineering grad student Rengarajan Shanmugam said.