A firefighter was the only person injured during a fire Sunday morning at Grant Towers.

The fire occurred at 8:05 a.m. Sunday on the 13th floor of Grant Towers C, according to the DeKalb Fire Department.

The firefighter suffered a minor back strain while fighting the fire.

“He injured his back from advancing a hose,” said Lt. Greg Hoyle, who also is a fire investigator for the department.

The firefighter was taken to Kishwaukee Community Hospital for evaluation and later was released.

“There were no students injured,” said Melanie Magara of NIU’s Office of Public Affairs.

Residence hall personnel evacuated students immediately, and led students back in by late morning, according to an NIU press release. Magara added that no student rooms were damaged in any way.

According to reports, the fire occurred in the 13th floor’s stairwell. The floor contains mechanical equipment and one student apartment, the resident of which reported the fire.

Firefighters arriving were met with “considerable fire and visible smoke,” according to a DeKalb Fire Department press release.

Hoyle said the fire burned at the stairwell’s air exchanger and at the exterior wall of the residence hall.

The cause of the fire currently is under investigation, Hoyle said.

According to an NIU press release, campus police reported that the origin of the fire appears to be a small heater or heat register in a stairway outside the 13th floor.

The stairwells are self-contained and insulated from the rest of the building, so little, if any, smoke escaped into living areas, according to the release.

Hoyle said fire department personnel removed roof panels and sprayed water down through the walls to put out the fire.

“Early assessments indicated minimal damage, and clean-up efforts focused mainly on water removal,” according to NIU’s release.

There were about 10 fire trucks at the scene, witnesses said.

“There was a second alarm requested through MABAS, Mutual Aid Box Alarm System, which brings units from Sycamore, Kirkland, Rochelle, Burlington and units from Cortland and Elburn to cover DeKalb stations,” Hoyle said.

Hoyle went on to say that even though requesting a second alarm is not standard, the department felt requesting was warranted. The fire department release attributed the request to “the construction of the building and the fact that it contains many students.”