Smoke alarms set off in the Industry Technology Education Center and the Arts Complex forced El Camino College students and employees to evacuate the buildings on the first day of the 2023 fall semester, Monday, Aug. 28.
According to Isabelle Peña, an administrative assistant, the first smoke alarm went off at 8:30 a.m. in the Industry Technology Education Center.
Although no classes were in session at the time, everyone in the building had to evacuate. Peña said another staff member on the scene told her someone was smoking in one of the building’s bathrooms and set off the smoke detector.
The second alarm went off three hours later in the Arts Complex building at 11:31 a.m.
El Camino College Police Officer Francisco Esqueda also believed a student smoking in the second-floor unisex bathroom caused the alarm.
“I went up there; it smelled a little funny but there was no one there by the time we got there,” Esqueda said. “Facilities reset the alarm, silenced it. Now, it’s all set.”
The El Camino College District promotes a “smoke-free” campus through Board Policy 3570 which strictly prohibits all tobacco, nicotine and tobacco-free smoking products.
Campus community members are encouraged to call the El Camino College Police Department at (310) 660-3100 or 911 to report suspicious activity.
To receive emergency alerts from campus police, text ECCPD to 888777 to sign up for Nixle Emergency Alerts.
