A fire broke out yesterday afternoon in the University District, shattering the life of one Ohio State student and displacing those of several others. No one was home at the time, but one pet dog was reportedly killed in the fire.

The fire, which occurred at 1503 Hunter, was reported to the Columbus Fire Department at 3:34 p.m., Capt. Tom Delong said. It started in the upstairs apartment of OSU student Amanda Bashore, who was not home when the fire broke out.

“We sent out nine (fire trucks) on the original call,” Delong said. “I’d say it was about 25 minutes before (the fire) was contained.”

Chief Robert Schmidt was among the first firefighters on the scene.

“We had a fire; we put it out,” he said. “The only things rescued were a cat and a dog.”

Delong explained that the fire had started on the upper level of the apartment and spread from there.

“When I got here, we had smoke coming from the windows on the south side and the eaves along the front,” he said.

The building was an apartment complex consisting of one-bedroom apartments.

Jessica Brooks, a student in social and behavorial sciences and resident of the complex at 1509 Hunter, said she was sitting in her apartment when a man knocked on her door and warned her to get out.

“I’m kinda shocked,” she said. “I was just inside. Some guy riding his bike knocked on my door and let me know (about the fire). The whole back of the house was in flames.”

The bike rider was Micah Versluis, a graduate of OSU and resident of the same city block.

“I was riding my bike, and I saw this puff of black smoke,” Versluis said. “I came over to see what was going on, and there was a huge fireball coming out the back window. I figured it had just started, so I started knocking on doors.”

It was at this point that Versluis found Brooks inside her apartment and warned her to evacuate.

“She grabbed her kitten and got out,” Versluis said. “A minute later the fire trucks showed up.”

Witnesses who saw the event praised Versluis as a hero, but he downplayed his role.

“I wouldn’t say I’m a hero,” he said. “I’d hate to see someone burning alive on the same block that I live in.”

The Ohio State Student Advocacy Center and the Red Cross were on the scene offering assistance to the students residing in the building.

Bashore rode in on her bike to find flashing lights and firefighters surrounding her apartment. Other residents in unaffected sections of the building arrived after receiving calls alerting them to the fire.

“I was at work,” said Chris Roegig, a resident of the complex. “My neighbor called me and said, ‘Dude, your house is on fire.’ I came back and found out it wasn’t my place. I feel bad for the girl.”

Investigators on the scene were unable to determine what had caused the fire or the value of the damages at press time.