First-floor residents of Santa Ana Hall awoke at 4 a.m. Tuesday to screaming fire alarms and billowing smoke.
A bulletin board on the east end of the first floor caught on fire, according to UNMPD spokesman Robert Haarhues. He said arson is the suspected cause of the fire.
No one was injured, and only the board was damaged. Residents returned to their rooms around 4:30 a.m.
Resident Kevin Blanton said the Santa Ana staff orchestrated a fire drill at around 7 p.m. the day before, so all the residents knew to congregate at the Student Resource Center commons just south of the residence hall.
“It’s kind of weird because we just had a drill, like, at 7,” he said. “It took me a little while to respond. I just flipped over because I thought it was a joke. But I went outside and there were already cops there.”
Bobby Childers, spokesman for Residence Life and Student Housing, said the damage was slight and the response was prompt.
“We reacted quickly. The desk staff was prompt in reacting to the need,” he said. “Students reacted quickly, and we had very slight damage — half a bulletin board.”
All of the bulletin boards on the first floor have signs reminding students that open flames — from incense, candles, hookahs, etc. — are illegal.
In September, a small fire broke out in the basement of Hokona Hall when a dryer caught on fire. Coincidentally, the hall’s residents had just completed a fire drill the day before the fire, as well.
Vents above the dryer circulated smoke and ash throughout the building during that fire, but there are no reports of soot or smoke damage in Santa Ana as of Tuesday afternoon.
