Overheated water cooler starts fire in Vivian Hall
The Los Angeles Fire Department responded Tuesday morning to an alert reporting heavy smoke on the University Park Campus.
Emergency · The Los Angeles Fire Department responded Tuesday to a report of a small fire at Vivian Hall, located on Watt Way. – Joseph Chen | Daily Trojan
The firefighters were called to the fourth floor of Vivian Hall, located on Watt Way, at approximately 9:40 a.m, according to LAFD spokesman Brian Humphrey.
The crews were able to quickly extinguish the flames in under 10 minutes.
The incident was a result of an overheated water cooler, according to Office of Fire Safety and Emergency Planning Specialist Steven Goldfarb.
“Some kind of heating element in one of those water dispensers caught fire,” Goldfarb said.
“The fire was quickly extinguished by the fire extinguishers and the building was quickly evacuated. The building remained closed for several hours.”
No injuries or damages were reported but the incident is still under investigation.
“We’re looking into the cause of why the machine overheated,” Goldfarb said. “It’s an isolated situation.”
University spokesman Carl Marziali said the USC Schwarzenegger Institute’s immigration forum at the Sol Price School of Public Policy, where former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Arizona Sen. John McCain gathered, was not affected.