A fire alarm prompted a few hundred UF students, faculty and staff to evacuate Turlington Hall for about half an hour Thursday afternoon.
The alarm sounded off at 4:15 p.m. and disrupted much of ninth period.
Lt. Terry McCarthy of the Gainesville Fire Rescue said the cause of the alarm appeared to be a sensor that detected some kind of aggravation, such as dust, and not someone pulling the alarm.
The building was cleared by firefighters at about 4:45 p.m.
"You get false alarms all the time," McCarthy said.
About six firefighters and two fire trucks were sent to the scene. McCarthy said more were on standby because of the building's size.
McCarthy said he and some of the firefighters checked all the floors of Turlington to make sure it was a false alarm.
"We will always verify and reverify for the safety of the students," he said.
