U City Fire Crews Respond to Smoke Scare at County Courts Building in Clayton

Crews from the were among multiple agencies that responded to a smoke scare at the  in Clayton on Tuesday afternoon.

An overheated elevator motor caused the scare, an official said. There were no injuries. 

The incident started in the machine room on the top of the building at 7900 Carondelet Plaza, Assistant Fire Chief Paul Mercurio of the  said. The room holds elevator motors and cabling. 

The smoke from the overheated motor traveled down a dumbwaiter shaft that courts employees use to transport documents and onto the fifth floor of the courts building, Mercurio said. It's unclear why the motor overheated. 

The first fire truck arrived at about 3:20 p.m. Tuesday, Mercurio said. Multiple agencies—Clayton, , University City and Maplewood—responded to the report. That's standard protocol because of the large size of the building. 

By the time fire officials arrived, people were leaving the building. 

"We were glad to see that the building was evacuated," Mercurio said.

Operations at the courthouse were back to normal between 15 and 20 minutes later.