      There was unexpected excitement on the Chadron State College campus about 8:30 Friday night.
A malfunctioning heater fan filled a room in Kent Hall full of smoke and triggered a call to the Chadron Volunteer Fire Department.
Fire Chief Brandon Martens says a quick response by the volunteers limited the damage to just the heater in the unoccupied Kent Hall room. The smoke is also expected to have little, if any, impact.
Chadron State had just started the Christmas/Semester break, so there were relatively few students in the dorm.
Chief Martens says when smoke from the heater began to spread into the hallway, it triggered smoke alarms that led to the evacuation of Kent Hall before fire crews even arrived at the scene.
After the overheated fan was taken care of, firefighters used their positive-pressure fans to quickly rid the dorm of the smoke. Chadron State officials, electricians, and HVAC technicians checked out all systems and found no problems.
Chief Martens say he appreciates all the help from the college, its staff, and the Chadron Police Department – which handled traffic controlled and checked on the evacuated students.