Students were evacuated from Camellia Hall on Saturday afternoon after an electric scooter caught fire in a stairwell.

At around 12:30 p.m., the Baton Rouge Fire Department responded to reports of a fire on LSU’s campus. Firefighters quickly extinguished the fire and reported that no students were injured. As of this time, no information is available about what caused the scooter to combust.

Several students had reactions to the fire and the ensuing evacuation.

“I was on the phone with my mom when the fire alarms started going off. Everyone just thought someone had burned their popcorn, not their scooter,” said mechanical engineering freshman Gabriella Little.

Other students reacted to the damage left behind by the fire.

“It looked like someone had dumped a bunch of baby powder all over, and the wall had like this black mark on it,” said Nolan Andrews, a mechanical engineering freshman.

Some students, like chemical engineering freshman Kyle Ardoin, were unhappy with the general situation with electric scooters on campus.

“These scooters should be banned,” Ardoin said. “I’m sick of walking to class and almost getting ran over by some dude flying by me. Why can’t you just walk like all of us?”

On Monday, Sept. 30, all dorm residents received an email from Residential Life detailing the university’s policy on electric scooters. 

“As a reminder from page 16 of the Living on Campus handbook, electronic skateboards, including self-balancing boards/scooters, and any similar personal transportation equipment which utilize lithium-ion batteries are prohibited from being used, stored and/or charged in any Residential Life community,” the email read. “Only ADA-approved, power-driven mobility devices are permitted within Residential Life communities.”