Fire outside KU’s Anderson strength center under control

No major injuries were reported during a three-alarm fire that broke out Tuesday morning in a HVAC unit attached to one of Kansas University’s sports facilities.

At 10:39 a.m., a structure fire was reported at the southwest corner of the Anderson Family Strength and Conditioning Center.

Flames and heavy smoke were coming out of the building’s cooling tower, which is part of the heating, ventilating and air-conditioning system. Parts of the strength and conditioning center and all of the Anschutz Sports Pavilion, which is next door, were evacuated.

One KU employee was treated at the hospital for minor smoke inhalation and later released.

Lawrence Douglas County Fire and Medical crews extinguished the fire.

The complex houses weight rooms and an indoor track and artificial turf surface among other things, and it is just west of Allen Fieldhouse on Kansas University campus.

KU spokeswoman Jill Jess said no athletic events would be affected by the fire.

The inside of the buildings were not damaged, but light smoke was detected.

Fire crews were unable to determine the cause of the fire, Jess said. Cost estimates of the damage to the building’s cooling tower were not available.

Hilltop Child Development Center, which sits up the hill from the sports pavilion, was not affected by the fire.

Power to the building was restored later in the day.