Sprinkler floods Parkside dining hall, forces evacuation

An activated sprinkler in the Parkside Restaurant flooded the dining hall, spurring a mass evacuation of the cafeteria and the surrounding Parkside residences Wednesday around 7:15 p.m. There was no mass structure fire.

Agent 66 of the Los Angeles Fire Department — who declined to provide his name — said he wasn’t sure what exactly set off the sprinkler. He indicated that it could have been heat or pressure.

“Any time you bump or hit a fire sprinkler, 25 gallons of water comes out every 60 seconds,” said Fire Safety Coordinator Melvin Brown. “The kitchen area is flooded … It’s a mess in there.”

Adam Yonas, a freshman majoring in biochemistry who was eating in the dining hall at the time, said that most students didn’t evacuate even when the alarm went off; it wasn’t until cafeteria staff told students to leave that most did.

“I think it [was] pretty orderly,” said Johnson Gao, a freshman majoring in computer science/business administration. “There’s no push and there’s no shout.” 

A handful of other students expressed disappointment that the fire alarm interrupted the cafeteria’s waffle day.

“This actually happens often,” Brown told a crowd of students. “Any time you hear that fire alarm activation go off, please take it seriously.”