Fire Temporarily Closes Illini Union Basement

An electrical fire occurred Thursday morning at the Einstein Bros. Bagels located in the basement of the 78-year-old Illini Union building on the University of Illinois campus.

Students and staff at the university received a text message alert at approximately 6:30 a.m. instructing them to avoid the area near the student union in Urbana. Another alert was sent nearly three hours later notifying the campus that the building had resumed normal operations. 

In an email Thursday, University of Illinois vice chancellor for student affairs Danita M. B. Young said the cause of the fire was electrical and that firefighters were able to contain the fire within ten minutes of arriving on the scene. No injuries were reported.

The Einsten Bros. Bagels remained closed in the Illini Union Thursday afternoon, and will not reopen until further notice. The other four restaurants located in the lower level of the building have resumed normal operations. The Orange on Green dining hall is expected to resume normal operations Friday.

Young thanked Illini Union staff for their quick response after the fire broke out Thursday morning, and said the fire suppression systems in the building “worked as designed, and the fire was contained to the Einstein Bros.”