Fire Department

When Engine Company 1 arrived to a fraternity house on the 200 block of Langdon Street Tuesday night, they were told there may be a gas leak in the basement.
 
A resident met with firefighters outside. He said he and a few of his fraternity brothers smelled something downstairs. It wasn’t natural gas, but whatever it was made their eyes burn. Firefighters were escorted inside and, with an air monitor in tow, they attempted to identify the irritant.
 
When they arrived at the basement, they opened a door and discovered smoke. A couple of firefighters went back to Engine 1 to retrieve a water can, thermal imaging camera, and Knox keys.
 
With the keys, the crew entered a locked kitchen door and found smoke near the stove. The smoke led them to a nearby storage room containing cleaning supplies and a stack of milk cartons – one of which had smoldering rags and other materials inside.
 
Using their watering can, the firefighters put out the fire, then ventilated the area before placing the crate contents in the sink.
 
With very few witnesses around at the time, and restricted access to that particular room, the cause of the fire could not be immediately determined.