HARTFORD, Conn. -- A fire ignited inside a dormitory at the University of Hartford Thursday night, months after the campus installed new sprinklers.

"We smelled the smoke and then we saw some smoke coming out, and then I opened the door and that's when I saw the fire," said Jonathan Barber, a UHart freshman.

West Hartford's fire officials said the flames were contained to a trash can. Channel 3 Eyewitness News reporter Ray Daudani reported the students who live at UHart's Crandall Hall evacuated into the cold for about an hour.

Water from overhead sprinklers did the most damage inside the building, which kept the university from allowing students back inside the building. About 20 students will have to crash at a friend's place Thursday night.

The inconvenience caused by the sprinklers is nothing compared to what could have happened if they weren't installed.

"It was catching on to a few things but it wasn't as serious. If you would waited for a long time, it could have got big," Barber said. "We could have been in bad shape."

Two years ago, a fire at a nearby dorm shut down the entire building for a semester. That dorm was not equipped with sprinklers

"After that fire, I believe, the school made the decision to sprinkler a lot of the dorm buildings, and these dorms were sprinklered this summer. So, I think it proved its worth today," West Hartford Assistant Fire Chief Michael Sinsigalli said.

Fire crews inspected the affected rooms and continue to investigate an exact cause.

Fire crews cited the sprinklers for keeping the fire contained to a trash can and a portion of a desk that was burned.

The students are expected to be allowed to move back into their dorm rooms over the weekend.

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