Rice University’s Student Newspaper — Since 1916

Friday, March 29, 2024 — Houston, TX

News in Brief

By Rice Thresher Staff     10/28/13 7:00pm

A fire alarm caused an evacuation of Keck Hall on Thursday, Oct. 24 at 4:35 p.m. The alarm was activated by a smoke detector in a mechanical room located in the building's basement, according to Jeff Coleman, a senior safety specialist for the Rice University Department of Environmental Health and Safety.

The Rice University Police Department and Houston Fire Department joined EHS in responding to the alarm, Coleman said.

"RUPD assisted with getting HFD in the building and [the] evacuation of the building, as well as securing the building so no occupants returned while the building was being checked and made safe," RUPD Captain Clemente Rodriguez said.



Coleman said there were no reported injuries, and damage was confined to the compressor. Facilities Engineering and Planning assisted in investigating the cause of the alarm. According to Coleman, FE&P determined that the failure of a compressor in the mechanical room generated the smoke that triggered the alarm.

Coleman said Keck's fire alarm system functioned properly and alerted occupants to evacuate. Occupants were allowed to re-enter the building at 5:30 p.m.



More from The Rice Thresher

NEWS 3/28/24 4:11pm
7.5% acceptance rate marks lowest in Rice history

Rice admitted 2,439 students from 32,459 applicants March 26, according to Vice President for Enrollment Yvonne Romero da Silva. With a 7.5% admit rate, this is the third consecutive year of record-low acceptance rates. The Thresher previously reported 7.7% and 8.56% acceptance rates for the Class and 2027 and 2026 respectively.

NEWS 3/26/24 11:39pm
Public parties to resume, Martel sundeck off-limits for morning party

Campus-wide public parties will resume in time for Beer Bike and Brown College’s Bacchanalia, Dean of Undergraduates Bridget Gorman announced in an email to students March 22. The sundeck will permanently be off-limits for Martel College’s morning party, and colleges will not be allowed to reschedule or host additional public parties this semester. 


Comments

Please note All comments are eligible for publication by The Rice Thresher.