UPDATE: Panel catches fire at School of Dentistry
An electrical panel caught on fire Wednesday afternoon in the basement of the Ostrow School of Dentistry.
Mike Mulvehill, interim associate dean of clinical affairs, said an electrical panel caught fire in the basement and blew out something in the main unit.
Dental emergency· Firemen respond to a blaze in the basement of the Ostrow School of Dentistry that began Wednesday afternoon. – Austin Vogel | Daily Trojan
“It was about 3:30 p.m.,” Mulvehill said. “I was at my desk in my office and everything just went black.”
The basement and first floor were evacuated first. Fourth-year dentistry graduate student Sophia Kang was on the second floor waiting to give a patient an X-ray when the power turned off.
“The power just went out completely on our floor. We were up there for about 10 to 15 minutes,” Kang said. “First floor people started to evacuate but no one told us to evacuate on the second floor. Then the fire alarm rang so everyone came out.”
Third-year dentistry graduate student Chris Fanelli said he had a patient in the chair when the power went out, but that people did not panic.
“We wanted to make sure the patients were safe,” Fanelli said. “That was of the utmost priority, and so we calmly and orderly evacuated the school. The professors did a great job keeping everyone calm and keeping us updated as best they could.”
Dental students were gradually allowed to re-enter, dispose of their used instruments and collect their belongings. Yi Ko, a third-year dentistry graduate student, said clinic was canceled for the remainder of the day, and patients already undergoing a procedure were told to visit the faculty in practice at the Engemann Student Health Center.
Updated on Dec. 6th at 9:03 a.m.
According to an email sent by Dean Avishai Sadan, Thursday morning clinic sessions and classes are also canceled.
Allison Toh contributed to this report.