Fire, extra hot, occurs in Sunstream

By Brittany Benjamin and Annie Cheung

The library was evacuated Tuesday after a faulty plug and an overheated outlet caused a fire in the Sunstream Café. Initially, the blaze did not trigger a fire alarm. While library staff cleared the building, Campus Safety arrived and activated the alarm.

Director of Facilities Jeffrey Charles said that he believes a cord of a coffee grinder was weakened after the appliance was placed too close to the wall. This bent the cord and arched the inside of the plug.

As a result, both the outlet and plug began to melt, releasing an acrid smell.

Bon Appétit worker Timothy Davila initially attempted to put out the flames when he grabbed the fire extinguisher off the wall and sprayed the outlet. He also unplugged the smoking cord.

He was unable to fully extinguish the fire before officials arrived.

"There were flames," he said. "It started exploding--flashes--like fire crackers."

An alarm was not triggered because the fire did not produce significant enough smoke to set off detectors located under the floor, according to Charles.

The sprinklers above the café are designed to activate only after a fire reaches a specific temperature.

Tuesday's fire never reached these temperatures and the sprinklers did not activate, according to Charles.

Because there were no alarms, the first attempt at evacuation was initiated by shouts of "Everyone needs to leave immediately," echoing from the entrance by the café. An announcement was later made over the intercom.

It took approximately ten minutes to get everyone out of the building, Assistant Director of Campus Safety Philip Beltran said.

Junior Meghan Skarzynski was working at the front desk when the fire started. She attempted to help by calling 911, Campus Safety and her supervisor.

"So it's my first day of work and I just called 911," she said.

Members of Facilities, Campus Safety and the Santa Clara Fire Department responded.

When Campus Safety arrived, the outlet was still smoking and sparking, said Beltran.

The building was evacuated, but only for less than approximately 30 minutes, according to Charles.

Nobody was hurt in the fire and the café sustained only minor damages. There were burns on the café counter and the electrical outlet plate was melted beyond use, Charles said.

The outlet, shutoff after the fire, was replaced and the substitute was operational the same day. The plug was also repaired.

The majority of the cleanup consisted of ridding the café of debris, resulting from using the fire extinguisher.

"Staff saw it and reported it," Beltran said. "They did the right thing and it was very orderly. It was small compared to what it could have been."

The Sunstream Café reopened fully functional at 5 p.m. Tuesday, said Fabio Soto, general manager of Dining Services.

According to Charles, the library was built according to fire code and inspected by the fire department. "All those requirements were met," he said.

Dining Services inspected Mission Bakery and Cadence Cyber Café later that afternoon to ensure their appliances were not at risk.

"The lesson learned here--if we confirm it--is that there's a reason for space behind plugs," Charles said.

Facility also plans on installing brackets in order to protect outlets in the future.

"We are putting some things in place to make sure it doesn't happen again," Soto said.

Soto believes Davila's actions remain Tuesday's success story. "He did it exactly the way it was supposed to be done," he said.

Contact Annie Cheung and Brittany Benjamin at (408) 554-4546 or news@thesantaclara.com.