Fire alarms rang out in the Student Union Memorial Center’s UofA Bookstore, Chemistry building, Manuel T. Pacheco Integrated Learning Center and the UA Main Library.
Testing of the fire alarms in the bookstore occurred earlier in the afternoon but the range of alarms, commencing at 3:30 p.m., were not linked to the initial testing, according to Jesse Ortega, operations manager at the UofA Bookstore.
Sgt. Juan Alvarez, public information officer for the University of Arizona Police Department, said a water surge due to system malfunctioning caused the alarms to sound at several buildings around the area.
Al Tarcola, assistant vice president of Facilities Management, confirmed this statement.
“”The fire alarms today were the result of a water pressure fluctuation in a Tucson water fire sprinkler line, which caused the alarm to go off,”” he said.
There was no damage and virtually no consequence to the students or the UA, Tarcola added.
Officer Linda Galindo, a Tucson Police Department spokeswoman, said there were no calls for service to the UA by the TPD around the time of the alarm, dismissing city involvement in the incident.