The Carbondale Fire Department responded to an apartment fire on East Hester Street on Monday evening.

Ted Lomax, Carbondale’s assistant fire chief, said an SIU student accidentally turned on his stove while reaching for an umbrella before going to the library.

He said when the student, who did not want to speak with the Daily Egyptian, returned 20 minutes later to his second floor apartment — where he lives alone — he saw smoke and called the department about 7:45 p.m.

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“There’s heavy damage,” said Lomax, who estimated the smoke damage to be between $5,000 and $10,000. “Lots of smoke.”

While standing in the parking lot between East Hester Street and East Stoker Street in light rain, Lomax said SIU offered to house the student, but does not know if he took the university up on the offer or if he stayed with a friend. No one was injured during the incident. 

The fire department’s three emergency vehicles that responded to the call left the scene about 9:15 p.m. The Carbondale Police Department and SIU’s Department of Public Safety also responded to the scene.

Luke Nozicka can be reached at [email protected].