The University of Minnesota issued a SAFE-U alert to students, staff and faculty after a vehicle caught fire outside of the East River Road Garage around 12:10 p.m. 

In a statement, the University said that the Minneapolis Fire Department arrived and quickly extinguished the fire. Minneapolis Fire reported no injuries. 

“A motorist noticed their car overheating and pulled over near the East River Parkway Garage,” the statement said. “The car caught on fire shortly after, and the Minneapolis Fire Department put it out. It was accidental and no injuries were reported.” 

The driver of the car and his daughter noticed the fire outside the entrance of the garage. 

Azzam Alharthi, a parking and transportation services employee, said the driver and another employee immediately called 911, and first responders came shortly after. 

“It was already in flames when I saw it and I went to my coworker and she already had called the police,” Alharthi said. “There was a lot of smoke going out and police came in very shortly, it was about maybe four or five minutes that they came in.” 

The University sent a second SAFE-U alert 10 minutes later stating that the garage area was cleared and deemed safe at 12:20 p.m.