Students evacuated their dorm rooms Thursday night at Weatherford Residential College at Oregon State University after a small fire in one of the rooms filled the residence hall with smoke.

The fire was extinguished before firefighters arrived shortly before 5 p.m. They opened windows and set up fans to ventilate the rooms and hallways, and they checked for hot spots and helped reset the building's fire alarm.

Corvallis Fire Prevention Officer Jim Patton said the fire apparently started near an electrical power strip that was covered by paper. A resident tried unsuccessfully to smother the fire with a towel. He eventually was able to put out the fire with a fire extinguisher.

The fire was out before it could trigger the building's sprinkler system.

The two students who lived in the room were relocated to other quarters while their room was cleaned, Patton said. The fire damaged only a few personal belongings and a wardrobe closet, he added. The rest of the students were able to return to their rooms within an hour.

It doesn't appear the power strip failed in any way, Patton said, adding that the fire is under investigation.

Weatherford Hall Residential College is home to the Austin Entrepreneurship Program for 290 residents interested in entrepreneurship.