Smoke Seeps Through Tunnel, Activates Alarms At Two Campus Buildings

Firefighters on Engine 4, housed on Monroe Street, headed to the UW-Madison Mechanical Engineering building after a smoke alarm activated there.

The alarm panel indicated there may be a problem in the basement, so firefighters headed there and began to investigate each room. They smelled no smoke and observed no signs of fire.

Meanwhile, Ladder 1 was dispatched to Engineering Hall next door, at 1550 Engineering Drive, for another alarm activation. A student approached Ladder 1 and said they might know what was going on:

Student researchers were working on a project in Mechanical Engineer. The project entailed mechanisms that produced a hazy gas or moisture exhaust that was being pumped into a sealed plastic compartment. The seal came loose, and the exhaust started to pump into the air.

Firefighters determined the reason alarms began to sound at Engineering Hall (1550 Engineering Dr.) was because the steam migrated into the building through an underground tunnel that connects to Mechanical Engineering Hall.

Engine 4, working at Mechanical Engineering, opened some nearby doors to aid with clearing out the haze. UW Security was on scene to reset the alarm system.