Update: Watch UP Vision’s video coverage of the incident.

At approximately 9:20 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 9, students were evacuated from the Innovation Village Apartments north tower due to an alleged grease fire on the first floor.

“It’s a real fire, you need to evacuate,” students were told over an intercom.

Danielle Casale, a sophomore biology major and her friend Sarena Volante, a sophomore pre-business major had just got out of the shower when the fire alarm went off.

“We were both in the room when the alarm went off. We thought it was a drill because we just had one yesterday,” said Casale.

According to students, surrounding hallways were completely smoked out.

Most student didn’t know happened, they just knew they had to get out of the building. The UP tried to talk to resident assistants from IVA north, but they declined to comment on the record.

“I had to find out from other people. No one told us anything,” said Matt Weinstein, a junior criminal justice major.

Weinstein was upset that he had to wait outside until students were able to go back in.

“I don’t like waiting outside for like five hours.”

Although the evacuation didn’t take five hours, students were allowed back in their rooms about an hour later; except for students living on the first floor.

Students living in IVA south didn’t have to leave their room during the duration of the incident.