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Bookstore evacuated for 45 minutes

The smell of smoke, along with exhaust and dust filled the basement of the U of A Bookstore yesterday afternoon, prompting an evacuation of the building for about 45 minutes.

Tucson Fire Department Battalion Chief Les Caid said the smoke and fumes came from construction workers cutting pipes that run near the building. The smoke did not cause any damages to the bookstore, 1209 E. University Blvd.

"There were some pipes being cut a little bit away from the bookstore, but the pipes run all the way down by the ventilation," Caid said. "It gave a pretty malodorous odor, but there was no real danger. The bookstore employees did the right thing by evacuating the building."

The Tucson Fire Department arrived at the scene shortly before 4 p.m. after alarms sounded and a bookstore manager called 911.

Debby Shively, assistant director of the bookstore, said the situation was handled efficiently by both the bookstore's employees and the TFD.

"They (TFD) came in and investigated the problem," she said. "Everyone took precautions to make sure it was safe to return inside, and the fire department said that problem shouldn't happen again here. Everything is fine now."

Construction workers finished cutting the pipes that lead into the bookstore, but Caid said other buildings on campus might be affected by similar problems.

"This is the very beginning of the construction," he said. "So this might happen elsewhere on campus in the future - we don't know. We will just have to keep an eye on it."