*UPDATED 1/17/13 1:42 PM*  The 24-hour fire watch has been called off. This is the third time a chandelier has caught fire.

An electrical fire broke out this evening in the Fresno City College library building, forcing dozens to evacuate.

Students and faculty noticed smoke emitting from a chandelier located in the main library.

“There was actually a lot of smoke coming out of the top of the light. I didn’t notice it until some people started shouting out ‘fire.’ Then I looked up and the light that was actually above me started smoking,” said FCC student Ko Vang. “Then…maybe two or three minutes later, you could see the flames coming out of the top of the light. It was right next to the West Wing entrance.”

At 5:24 p.m., the SCCCD dispatch center received an alarm notification from the library. On-duty SCCCD police Sgt. Christopher Bosworth rushed to the scene.

“Once he entered the main building, he smelled an odor of smoke,” said Kris Townsend, a firefighter with the Fresno City fire department. “When he entered the main library, he noticed a fire in the middle portion of the chandelier, notified his dispatch to contact the Fresno fire department, grabbed the nearest extinguisher and put it out.”

Two fire trucks and more than a half dozen firefighters responded within minutes to clear the area and to assess the damage.

“Inside the main library, there is still a light haze of smoke,” said Townsend. “So what we’re doing is we’re setting up fans and we’re blowing out the smoke through the windows of the main library.”

The Fresno fire department and the SCCCD police department are working together to ensure that no additional electrical problems place students, faculty and property at risk.

“The alarm is still going off,” said Townsend. “The Fresno City police department is going to have a 24-hour fire watch to make sure that nothing else is going to happen electrically.”

Fire damage was contained to the chandelier itself. The library building and literature remain intact.