El Cappuccino suddenly closed after a fire broke out in a student’s backpack Wednesday, Oct. 29.
Sometime between 9 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., a backpack placed on a chair suddenly burst into flames.
“We heard a boom, and then smoke came from the backpack,” Ashlyn Zeutzius, 21, said. “And then all the sudden it started to go up in flames.”
The fashion design major was in a club meeting with two other people in the cafe when they saw the fire break out.
As soon as they saw the fire, patrons immediately left the cafe.
El Cappuccino remains closed for the rest of the day while the smoke clears out.
Signs taped to the front windows apologized for the inconvenience.
Another sign from Pacific Dining Services, which manages the on-site dining options on campus, explained the closure was caused by “a small fire”.
They reassured patrons that the cafe will reopen “bright and early tomorrow!”
![Trustee Clifford Numark and Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi, who have been friends for almost 30 years, at the Board of Trustees Meeting on Monday, Nov. 10. "It has been an absolute pleasure and joy to be able to serve first Torrance, and then the South Bay community, the largest South Bay community, together," Muratsuchi said. [Eleni Klostrakis | The Union]](https://eccunion.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/IMG_4446-e1763244984544-900x1200.jpeg)
