Smoke from the construction project at the Reitz Union set off a fire alarm Wednesday morning that resulted in the building’s evacuation.
At about 10 a.m., dust and smoke formed when workers cut concrete on the fourth floor, setting off an alarm that alerted fire rescue and university police to the scene.
The building was evacuated for only a few minutes, said Eddie Daniels, executive director of the Reitz.
“It was a very minor issue, no danger whatsoever,” he said. “It was absolutely in no way connected with the threats the university received.”
Still, students at the Reitz were questioning if the fire alarm was related to tweets posted early Wednesday morning threatening a shooting at UF.
Julissa Aquino, a UF civil engineering sophomore, was studying on the second floor when the alarm sounded.
An announcement over the PA system then told students there was a reported emergency and to evacuate the building.
That’s when the shooting threat popped into Aquino’s mind.
“I was already paranoid going to school, but when you heard the alarm, that’s the first thing you think of,” the 19-year-old said. “I was scared.”
But when students exited the building calmly, her fears subsided.
“I was relieved to know that it was not something serious and that no one was hurt,” she said.
[A version of this story ran on page 4 on 12/4/2014]
