(UPDATED) Fire at Courthouse

The DeKalb County Courthouse was evacuated Tuesday afternoon after a newspaper recycling bin caught fire in the vestibule near the first floor entrance.
It is believed someone dropped a lit cigarette in the bin which sparked the fire.
*The DeKalb County Courthouse is OPEN except the first floor which will be closed to the public on Wednesday, June 15 to allow SERVPRO to do cleanup after the fire Tuesday. General Sessions Court will be held Wednesday. The DeKalb County Election Commission Office will be closed all day Wednesday but will re-open Thursday. Although the fire was contained to a recycling bin and the wall behind it on the first floor the smoke spread and the smell of smoke could be detected on all floors. SERVPRO arrived at the courthouse Tuesday evening to begin the process of ventilating the first, second, and third floors of the courthouse. The public is asked to use the side entrances to enter the courthouse. To access the elevator, use the ramp on the northeast side of the courthouse.
No one was injured but heat and smoke from the fire scorched the wall behind the recycling bin and cracked a glass window. Smoke spread through the first floor and into the upper floors. The fire was contained to the area of the bin.
Local attorney Jim Judkins was the first to spot the blaze. He tried to activate the fire alarm and accessed a fire extinguisher which he used to try to put out the blaze.
“I was going into the basement of the courthouse to file a notice with the court and noticed there was a fire about waist level in the recycling bins located in the front of the basement area. I tried to find if there was a fire extinguisher or a fire alarm. An individual had already pulled a fire alarm and it wasn’t working. I then went over to the election commission office and told them to call the fire department. I was looking for anything to put it out. I grabbed a coffee pot and some drinks off their desks (election commission office) and threw that on it (fire). That put it down a little. I then tried to activate another fire alarm but it too did not go off. Someone then brought me a fire extinguisher and I got it put out. It had burned part of the wall (behind the bin) and there was a ton of smoke to the point that I had to get down on my knees to finish putting the fire out,” Judkins told WJLE.
Members of the Smithville Fire Department were notified and quickly responded.
Judkins later discovered that he had not completely extinguished the fire himself. ” I talked with Smithville Fire Chief Charlie (Parker). I thought I had the fire put out but when they (city firefighters) took over he (Chief Parker) said it was smoldering and they had to empty another extinguisher,” said Judkins.