At approximately 6:50 p.m. Berkeley Fire Department responded to a small fire at the Berk, a residential housing unit for students on the south side of the UC Berkeley campus.
The fire originated in a room on the third floor, activating a sprinkler response system that put out the fire, according to BFD Captain Kevin White, who said the cause of the fire had not been determined and that there were no reported injuries.
As of 7:15 p.m. firefighters attempted to redirect water from the sprinklers into the stairwell to avoid water damage to rooms on the third floor.
Within minutes of the alarm, four fire trucks and two police cars surrounded the building, sectioning off the first block of College Avenue.
Fire alarms leading to sudden evacuations are a frequent occurrence at the Berk, according to residents.
“It’s happened seven times this semester,” said Henry Guan, a UC Berkeley freshman who lives in the Berk. “This happens all the time, but this time, it was for real.”
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