Fire alarm at Ballantine not serious

Students, faculty and staff were evacuated just before 3 p.m. Tuesday after a fire alarm sounded in Ballantine Hall.

Three firetrucks, a Bloomington Fire Department vehicle and a Bloomington Police Department car responded to the alarm.

BFD Battalion Chief Mark Webb said the alarm came from a machine room in Ballantine. Firefighters wanted to check the room, but they had to wait until IU facilities workers delivered the key.

The atmosphere was unhurried, and students were still trickling out of the building at 3 p.m. They began leaving the area at 3:05 p.m., many asking their professors whether they had to stay for class.

Students, faculty and staff were allowed back into Ballantine at 3:20 p.m.

— Mary Kenney