Floor cleaning equipment overheated and caught fire in Capen Hall Wednesday afternoon. The small fire was reported at 2:02 p.m. on the Capen ground floor 3A, according to University Police.
The fire was extinguished prior to a UPD patrol arriving on scene, but the smoke caused the fire alarms to sound off.
Chris Bartolomei, assistant chief of police, said the cleaning machine had to be brought outside for a few minutes so the smoke could clear. After the smoke cleared, the detectors were reset.
Fire alarms sounded off in Capen last week as well due to dust from work being done on Norton Hall. Capen, Norton and Talbert Hall all share the same alarm system, so conditions in any of the locations can signal an alarm, according to Bartolomei.
Charles W Schaab is the assistant news editor. He can be reached at charles.schabb@ubspectrum.com
