The roof, the roof, the roof is on … actually it was just smoke from the basement.

An odor of smoke coming from the basement of Founders Memorial Library caused concern late Thursday morning, resulting in an evacuation of the four-story building.

A 911 call was received by the DeKalb Fire Department shortly after noon, said DeKalb Fire Chief Pete Polarek.

The incident took about 35 minutes to resolve. During that time, people were evacuated as police and fire officials searched for a possible threat.

Firefighters were unable to locate smoke or even a smoke odor, Polarek added.

Sgt. John Kreutziger of University Police said reports indicate that a blowtorch flame from a welding project in the basement resulted in the smoke odor.

Officials were told to prevent future smoke from creeping into the library, thus deterring future visits from the fire department, Polarek said.

Thursday’s occurrence required a standard dispatch of two engines, a fire truck, an ambulance and a shift commander.

Polarek said he can’t remember an incident in which an actual fire broke out in the library, but did say it wouldn’t result in good news.

“A library is basically a place of public assembly where lots of people come to congregate,” Polarek said. angel hernandez photo

Students and emergency fire personnel check out the scene at Founders Memorial Library on Thursday afternoon, where a fire was suspected.