A mulch fire around Neptune Central forced students and faculty to evacuate the residence hall Wednesday afternoon, said Lt. Karl Froehlich of the DeKalb Fire Department.

Michael Stang, director of housing and residential life, said the smoke traveled from the outside of Neptune Central into the interior of the building.

“They dumped the interior part of the building and evacuated Neptune Central,” Stang said. “They are trying to find the source from the outside.”

Firefighters responded to the scene and the ordeal was cleared up within 20 minutes.

At the time, students in Neptune Central were unaware of the actual cause of the smoke.

Dan Vandenberg , a Neptune West resident and sophomore psychology major, said he was in his room eating lunch when he heard the siren.

“At first people didn’t know what to make of it and no one was really moving out of the building,” Vandenberg said. “As soon as they told us to leave, everyone remained calm and stayed quiet.”

Kaiya and Brittany Foster, both Neptune West residents and junior psychology majors, said they didn’t even know anything was going on until their community adviser told them there was a fire in Neptune Central.

“The alarm didn’t go off in West, so we didn’t hear anything,” Kaiya said. She said she would not have left her room if her CA had not told her to.

Students remained outside until they were told they could re-enter the building by using the doors of Neptune West and East only.