It's likely that the dryer was overstuffed, the lint wasn't cleaned out, or a combination of both, said chief of communications for Student Life and Engagement Kat Cooper.

Olivia Porter, a sophomore in agriculture business management and Butterfield Hall resident, said one of the dryers containing her clothes was impacted by the fire, and the clothes had soot and residue on them when she checked on the situation. 

"I put my laundry in around noon. I was waiting and waiting and the fire alarm started going off," Porter said.

Students were waiting outside for about 45 minutes, that's how they realized there was an actual fire, Porter said. 

After the students were let back into the building and they identified whose clothes were whose, someone came to take down resident's information, Porter said. They couldn't guarantee she'd be reimbursed, but said that she needed to fill out an injury report.

Dryers at MSU have caught on fire before, most commonly overheating and catching fire due to being overloaded. However, the exact cause of this fire has not yet been discovered.

Yet, residents at Butterfield Hall say they have known there's been an issue with their dryers.

"I knew people had reported it in the past, but it just seemed like there was not a lot of people who knew that there were washing machines and drying machines that weren't working," Porter said.

About half an hour after the incident was reported, the Michigan State DPPS sent an email to the community that said there was no active fire, no threat to the community and no reported injuries.

The company Wash will be handling the repairs, and there is no estimate as to when the situation will be fully resolved. The laundry room is currently closed and in the process of being cleaned, Cooper said. After it's cleaned, the laundry room will reopen during the repairs.

Students should not be alarmed and MSU is actively working on the situation, Vizueta said.