Campus Alert Archive
USD

An Employee Smelled Smoke at 8 A.M. and the Chemistry Lab Was Sealed by Nightfall

SDfireemergency notificationmedium confidence

Shortly before 8 a.m. on Wednesday, October 11, 2023, a University of South Dakota employee smelled smoke in the Pardee Estee Laboratory chemistry building in Vermillion and Public Safety notified the Vermillion Fire Department and Clay County Emergency Services. The building was evacuated and a small fire in the southeast corner of the third floor was extinguished, with most damage from smoke and water confined to that floor. The State Fire Marshal's office later determined the fire was accidental, and the building was locked and sealed until further notice.

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
—
Injured
—
Institution
University of South Dakota
Public R2 · SD
Campus Alert (Everbridge)
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTSMS
Approximate reconstruction172 chars
USD Campus Alert: Evacuate Pardee Estee Laboratory due to a reported fire. Stay clear of the building and follow emergency personnel directions. More information to follow.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed from USD's official account: an employee reported smelling smoke shortly before 8 a.m. CDT and the building was evacuated as the Vermillion Fire Department and Clay County Emergency Services responded.
USD's Campus Alert system runs on the Everbridge platform and is used for fire, weather, closures and criminal activity, per the university's safety pages.
ALL CLEARSMS
Approximate reconstruction201 chars
USD Campus Alert: The fire in Pardee Estee Laboratory has been extinguished. The building remains closed until further notice. Classes in the building are being relocated; watch your email for details.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed all-clear: USD reported the small third-floor fire was extinguished, the building was locked and sealed until further notice, and classes were reassigned.
Because the damage was largely smoke and firefighting water rather than flame spread, the building closure for cleanup outlasted the actual fire by a wide margin.
Context

Background

Pardee Estee Laboratory, attached to Churchill-Haines on USD's Vermillion campus, is the university's chemistry building and has a long history of fires stretching back to a notable January 1957 blaze. On Wednesday, October 11, 2023, USD's Department of Public Safety notified the Vermillion Fire Department and Clay County Emergency Services shortly before 8 a.m. after an employee reported smelling smoke. According to USD's official release, the building was evacuated and a small fire in the southeast corner of the third floor was extinguished, with most damage limited to the third floor and caused by smoke and the water used to put out the fire. The South Dakota State Fire Marshal's office determined the fire was accidental, though the exact cause was not released, and the building was locked, sealed and closed while cleanup began and classes were reassigned. No verbatim Campus Alert text was published, so the alerts here are honestly reconstructed and marked unconfirmed.
Analysis

Key Findings

An employee's report of a smoke smell, not an alarm, initiated the response shortly before 8 a.m. CDT on October 11, 2023
Damage was dominated by smoke and firefighting water rather than flame, yet still forced an indefinite building closure and class relocations
The State Fire Marshal ruled the fire accidental, continuing Pardee's long history of chemistry-building fires
No verbatim USD Campus Alert text was published, so the alerts are reconstructed and flagged unconfirmed
Outcome
No injuries were reported. A small third-floor fire was extinguished, classes in the building were reassigned, and Pardee Estee Laboratory was sealed and closed for cleanup. The State Fire Marshal ruled the fire accidental.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Official
    USD officials release campus fire details - The South Dakotan
    usd.edu
  2. Student Paper
    Verve Vault: A brief history of USD's structure fires - The Volante
    volanteonline.com
  3. Official
    Emergency Preparedness - University of South Dakota
    usd.edu
Tags
firelaboratorychemistry-buildingsouth-dakotausdvermillionpardee-esteeemergency-notification
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion