Police confirm ‘faulty heating element’ behind series of incidents
Edinburg firefighters Martin Hernandez Jr. (left) and Marcus Salinas walk toward the University Center Nov. 15 in response to a fire alarm in the building due to smoke. Ryan Lugo/THE RIDER
Air-conditioning issues resulted in three electrical fires over the span of a week at the University Center on the Edinburg campus, prompting multiple evacuations and closures of the building.
The first fire occurred at 3:58 p.m. Nov. 15. Witnesses reported smoke in the building and it was evacuated as a result.
Raul Leal, the program coordinator for the Center for Student Involvement, was working in the University Center at the time of the first fire.
“We were business as usual, [until] I saw smoke coming from the vents on the second floor,” Leal said. “So, we pulled the fire alarm.”
Van Slusser, a UTRGV assistant chief of police, said University Police responded to the report of a fire alarm shortly before 4 p.m.
“We got out there and there was smoke in the building,” Slusser said. “ … We also found some black ash that had come out from some of the ventilation.”
Shortly after that, firefighters from the Edinburg Fire Department arrived to examine the cause of the fire and determine a course of action.
“It [was] an air-conditioning issue,” said Edinburg Fire Capt. Jaime Hernandez. “Maintenance pointed that out to us.”
The University Center was closed for emergency repairs and to vent the smoke out of the building.
At 8:35 a.m. Nov. 16, smoke was once again reported in the building. Students and staff evacuated the University Center, and the Environmental Health and Safety as well as the Facilities departments later arrived to conduct repairs.
University Police and the Edinburg Fire Department also responded to the location.
“We came out there a little bit after 8:30 in the morning and it was the same type of an issue,” Slusser said. “It was smoke and ash coming out of the ventilation system.”
At 11:01 a.m. Nov. 21, smoke triggered the fire alarm for the third time in a week, resulting in another evacuation of the center. The Edinburg Fire Department determined the cause to be a faulty heating element above Room 218 and vented the smoke out of the building, according to Slusser.
The Edinburg Fire Department later deemed the building safe for re-entry.
“[The three incidents] did involve the ventilation system,” Slusser said. “ … It’s noted that facilities personnel were [stating] that they were gonna work on assessing the other heating elements to ensure that this doesn’t keep occurring.”
