An overheating fan belt triggered an evacuation of the Dana Natural Resources and Environment Building on Wednesday afternoon.

The fan belt, a part of a heater in the east entrance of the building, began smoking at approximately 2:20 p.m., when the fire department and University Police were notified.

The building, home of the School of Natural Sciences and the Environment, reopened at approximately 3:00 p.m. after Occupational Safety and Environmental Health staff checked for carbon monoxide.

Duane Lee, the senior fire inspector and senior occupational safety and environmental health representative who was at the building, said the smoke triggered the fire alarms and led to the evacuation. He said there was no fire in the building.

“It generated some smoke,” he said. “There was never any actual fire.”

Lee said the occurrence was not that unusual and was being fixed.

“We had a fan get hot in one of these heating units, and they’re just going to replace the motor,” he said. “It’s one of those things that occasionally happens.”

University Police spokeswoman Diane Brown called the situation a “very minor incident” and said the building’s evacuation was “precautionary.”

Nahariya Wright, the building’s facilities manager, said the Chemistry Building serves as the Dana Building's point of refuge in an emergency, but that several people remained outside to watch what was happening.

Sarah Foulkes, a first year Rackham student, was in the building studying when she was told to evacuate.

“It was kind of upsetting to get kicked out of where I was studying,” she said. “I have an exam tomorrow.”

Foulkes, like many other people in the building at the time of the evacuation, initially stood outside the building waiting to be let back in. But after waiting, many students and faculty moved to the Chemistry Building and the C.C. Little Science Building to stay warm.