The Student Union Memorial Center was evacuated Thursday afternoon around 3:15 p.m. Students and workers all fled from the doors while the alarm system was going off throughout the area. 

With it being the middle of the day, the lines were long and many students were waiting for their orders that were already placed and paid for, but the student union remained empty.

SUMC employees taped off the area, blocking access to the student union and even to Arizona Market, not allowing students to be anywhere near the entrances to the student union.

The Tucson Fire Department arrived on campus around 10 minutes after the alarms had begun to ring.

Executive Director of the Arizona Student Unions, Todd Millay, said that there was no fire at SUMC. Apparently, a sprinkler head was broken and it set off the fire alarm system.

Millay said that the student union has some mild water damage and water issues related to it.

TFD posted on X (formerly Twitter) detailing more of the issue.  

“A waterflow alarm went off inside a large freezer used to store food,” the post read. “The crew on Engine 3 discovered a broken sprinkler head inside the freezer with a light haze of smoke.”

TFD further confirmed there was no fire within the student union.

The student union returned to normal operations around 4:30 p.m., with students able to get the food they had ordered before the alarm went off as well as place new orders.