Smoke spread into Modelle Metcalf Visual Arts Center (Metcalf) on Thursday morning, triggering the fire alarms around 10:15 a.m.
Students and faculty evacuated the building and waited for the fire department to check the vicinity.
Jeremie Riggleman, assistant professor of art, said there was no actual fire, but the fire department still thoroughly checked the whole building.
The wood kiln was being heated for pottery, Riggleman said. Due to wind and rain, the kiln’s natural smoke stayed in the sculpture yard instead of exiting. The smoke then entered Metcalf through a propped door.
The fire was contained in the kiln where it’s designed to stay, James Miles II, department co-chair and assistant professor of art, said. He said the kiln was not a safety issue.
“We carefully, without exception, empty the building if there's a fire alarm, and faculty have always made sure that the entire building is actually cleared,” Miles said. “So we did that.”
Sophomore Lauren Myers was walking to Metcalf when she noticed the blinking lights. She thought it looked like a fire alarm.
“I heard this noise, and I was like, ‘That's a weird noise — I’ve never heard that before,’” she said.
People were exiting Metcalf on both sides, she said.
The only indication of the morning’s event was the smell of smoke throughout Metcalf.
