Central Florida Future

Issue date: 10/20/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Sarah Rogers Police officers wore masks while investigating the explosion in academic village early Monday morning.

A UCF residence hall was evacuated late Sunday night after an explosion in one of the rooms, UCF Police Department Investigator Eric Walton said.

The explosion that caused the evacuation of Hercules 109 was caused by a student who was attempting to make Adderall, a prescription psychostimulant used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

"We had a student on campus attempting to make Adderall in his room. There was a small explosion but no damage to the room, no students were injured," Walton said.

Walton said the student was arrested and is being processed at the UCF PD station. The charges against the student have not yet been released.

There was no fire from explosion, Walton said. Smoke caused the building's fire alarm to activate.

Hercules 109, a building designated for freshmen, was evacuated to determine the reason for the explosion and for the safety of the residents.

UCF PD, Orange County Sheriff's Office and Hazmat teams from the Orange County Fire Department responded to the scene. The UCF Department of Environmental Health and Safety was brought in to help with declaring the floor to be safe.

After a few hours of checking for safety issues, the building was declared safe to enter. All residents of the building were allowed to go back to their rooms, except for three residents who lived in the suite where the incident took place. The Department of Housing and Residence Life will be finding those students temporary housing.

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For more updates on this story, check back at www.UCFnews.com and look for a full story in Wednesday's issue of the Future.

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