ORONO – A dryer fire in the basement of a University of Maine residence hall was extinguished early Friday evening before it spread to any of the top floors.

The smell of burning metal filled the air around Knox Hall about 5:30 p.m. as a small group of residents and passers-by watched crews from the Orono and Old Town fire departments contain the fire.

“The call came in as a fire alarm and we didn’t have any information until we got here,” Orono Lt. Rob St. Louis said. “The smoke detectors were going off in the basement and first floor, so we had an idea.”

Two firefighters went inside and discovered heavy smoke coming from the laundry room in the Knox Hall basement, the lieutenant said.

“When we went inside the room, there was a working fire on one of the dual washer-dryer units,” St. Louis said.

The fire quickly was put out with a chemical extinguisher. Large fans were brought in to divert smoke outside, and damage was limited to the one washer-dryer unit.

All the residents of Knox Hall, a four-story dormitory, were evacuated. St. Louis said they would be able to return later in the evening, but the basement would be closed to students until today.

Dean of Students Robert Dana and Resident Life Director Barbara Smith stood outside the building and agreed that things could have been a lot worse.

“We had a dryer fire maybe two years ago at another residence hall,” Dana said. “These dryers are relatively new and well-maintained, but students often try to stuff too much in there, which can cause the dryers to get really hot.”