Signs of explosion found in laboratory where MU Medical Sciences fire began

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The cause of a fire that injured two people in a laboratory in the University of Missouri Medical Sciences Building on Friday is unknown, but firefighters found signs of an explosion, the Columbia Fire Department says.

Firefighters arrived at the Medical Sciences Building on Friday afternoon as people leaving the building told them an explosion had occurred, CFD said in a news release. Firefighters put out the fire in the seventh-floor lab with a fire extinguisher and saw signs of a small explosion, including partially collapsed inside walls and debris, the release says.

Emergency crews searched the building and found no one inside. However, they found broken chemical containers that they worried held hazardous materials, slowing their progress.

Two people had minor injuries and were treated and released.

Fire marshals are still looking into how and where the fire started, the release says.