OCC Campus Evacuated Due To Fire
SOUTHFIELD (WWJ) - Oakland Community College's Southfield campus building was evacuated Thursday morning after a fire broke out in the mechanical room in the new wing near Nine Mile and Southfield roads.
WWJ Newsradio 950 spoke live with Southfield's acting fire chief Keith Rawley who said the fire was first reported on the roof of the new wing. He said it wasn't immediately clear what caused it.
"We're not sure if it was an overheated motor or insulation that may have been too close to the motor. That's going to have to be investigated further and that's going to be turned over to the engineers over at the college to determine that," Rawley said.
Their were no injuries and students were only out of class for about an hour. Rawley praised the school for their evacuation plan.
"Everyone's back in the building and my compliments to the college here. They did an excellent job of protecting the students and getting them away from the building," he said.
Aside from the burned insulation in the mechanical room, Rawly said the fire also caused some minor smoke damage in the third story wing and a couple of labs in that area. Firefighters also has to do some cutting in the roof to gain access to the burned insulation.
The fire remains under investigation.
