Fire alarm in the Fine Arts building false alarm
At 10:45 this morning the quiet of the Fine Arts building was interrupted when the fire alarm blasted. Following protocol, the building was evacuated and people moved out into the lawn areas, noticing the smell of smoke in the air.
Officer Santos Garcia from the campus police department was the first responder. After investigation, Garcia discovered that the automatic alarm had been set off by excess dust in the ceramics lab.
Once the source of the alarm was discovered, the campus maintenance department turned off the blaring alarm.
“They had opened both doors, and the dust set off the sensitive alarm,” said Garcia. “And with the kiln running, that explains the smell of smoke.”
Garcia said that the alarm system is automatic and signals both the fire department as well as the campus police. Once it was discovered to be a false alarm, all went back inside.