A house close to campus near Huntington Drive caught fire on the evening of Saturday, Sept. 4.

Firefighters arrived on scene at approximately 8:30 p.m. and attempted to contain the damage; roughly four fire trucks, as well as electrical emergency services and other emergency vehicles, were present.

The fire was thought to have been due to a grill mishap, though the cause has yet to be confirmed.

Flames and smoke could be seen from streets away, and according to UTD graduate student and eyewitness Israel Flores, who was walking back from dinner near the area, “another bystander directly across from the house’s backyard on Waterview Drive said the fire was raging enough that she ‘was afraid the flames would spread to the leaves of the trees.’”

Moreover, Flores said, “the volume of water firefighters applied to the burning home was impressive and overflowed the nearby storm drains flooding a portion of Cheyenne Drive.”

The occurrence was very close in proximity to campus, with Housing Operations sending a campus-wide email blast advising students not to be alarmed “in the event [they] smell smoke or a burning smell.”

No one appeared to be harmed and all members of the home evacuated safely.

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This is a developing story. The Mercury will update this page as more information becomes available.