This afternoon at approximately 12 p.m., students leaving class walked outside to find ambulances and fire engines arriving on campus. Students were corralled across the street from the University Center (UCs) and the Student Life Pavilion (SLP).
USD Custodian Vicky Tapia was working in the SLP when the fire began.
“I started cleaning the restrooms and all [of] the sudden there was a lot of smoke on the third floor,” Tapia said. “Then I saw the fire.”
Over the course of the next few hours, The USD Department of Public Safety sent out text messages and emails to the USD community providing updates on the situation. By 12:38 p.m., all students, faculty and staff had received an email and text that the small kitchen fire had been extinguished.
Torero Hub Service Assistant Receptionist Joel Cuevas works in the UCs and evacuated when the alarms went off.
“There [were] like 5 or 6 fire trucks,” Cuevas stated. “The ladder was extended all the way to the fourth floor of the SLP. ”
It isn’t uncommon for the fire alarm to sound in various campus spaces, especially student housing.
USD senior Maddie Tobin had witnessed fire alarms previously on campus and initially questioned the legitimacy of the event.
“I also do remember freshman year when I had to walk out with my plate of food from the SLP and there was actually no fire that time,” Tobin commented. “Freshman year also in Maher, there was a kid that held his lighter up to the alarm just to set it off for fun.”
An hour and a half after the alarm began, USD Public Safety and University Operations wrote in an email to the community that the SLP had been evacuated and would resume activities momentarily.
“The SLP has been cleared and reopened, and food service will resume shortly for students, faculty and staff,” USD wrote.
This is a developing situation that The USD Vista will continue to monitor. Please check our website, theusdvista.com, for relevant updates.
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