The Memorial Union was evacuated Tuesday night as emergency services responded to a small electrical fire caused by a speaker in the basement bowling alley, officials said.
The fire alarm activated, and the Tempe campus building was evacuated at about 9 p.m. Five minutes later, five fire engines, three police cars and an ambulance responded to the north side of the MU.
Firefighters emerged from the basement at 9:20 p.m., and the building was reopened at 9:42 p.m. The area where the fire started appeared to have only minimal damage.
“One year, 17 days, but who’s counting?” said Chris Boesen, an MU shift supervisor. A Nov. 1, 2007, fire in a second-floor ballroom shut down the union for months.
“We called the proper authorities and made sure to evacuate properly,” Boesen said. “As soon as we heard the alarm, we’re trained to get people out.”
Industrial design junior Sean Clark works in Sparky’s Den, which includes the bowling alley. He was in the basement when the calls for evacuation began.
“Once we heard the alarm, we evacuated and closed our area,” he said. “They didn’t determine where it came from until several minutes later.”
Andrew Joe, a biological sciences freshman, said he was in an elevator at the time and the alarm scared him and his friends.
“History repeats itself,” he said. “It’s a college campus, and stuff just happens.”
Reach the reporter at channing.turner@asu.edu.
