Burned food in employee area prompts emergency announcement at Comic-Con – San Diego Union-Tribune
An emergency alert — caused by an employee burning food — was heard in part of the San Diego Convention Center around 1 p.m. Friday, as the third day of Comic-Con at the annual convention was underway.
“An emergency has been reported in the building,” the statement said. The alarm was heard in the press room on the upper level, in the southeast part of the building, and on social media, attendees reported hearing the alarm in Ballroom 20.
Shortly afterward, a second notice announced that a fire situation had been reported in the building and asked people to evacuate the building. Elsewhere in the convention center, Hall H, the building’s largest conference room, continued its “Doctor Who” program and vendors continued to serve food.
San Diego Fire Department officials later confirmed that the alarms were triggered by burning food in one of the employee areas, which caused a fire alarm to sound.
“A few people came out of the mezzanine and went back inside once it was determined it was just food,” said fire department spokeswoman Mónica Muñoz.
Maren Dougherty, a spokeswoman for the convention center, said the alarm system is designed in part to alert people that an investigation is underway into a possible fire somewhere in the building. A second message then informed people that there was no immediate danger.
A San Diego Union-Tribune reporter confirmed with a security guard around 1:25 p.m. that the alarm was over.
Originally published:
California Daily Newspapers
