Fire alarm, sprinklers saved lives of students: Evanston Fire Dept.

A fire protection system spared five Northwestern students from a dryer-fire in their residence last Monday, according to the Evanston Fire Department.

About 9:10 p.m., firefighters responded to a fire in the 700 block of Emerson Street, according to Chief Paul Polep. They arrived to the 2-and-a-half story house and located the fire on the second story and put it out.

Nine Northwestern students lived at the residence, and five of them were home during the time of the fire, Polep said. No one was hurt.

The department noted that the sprinkler system was running and that the smoke alarm was working.

“Having these systems in place prevented the loss of lives and property,” Polep wrote in a statement.

Polep gave credit to a city ordinance that required multi-family residences to have alarms and sprinkler systems.