MILWAUKEE — A student at Milwaukee Area Technical College captured a dramatic photo Tuesday morning of a chair on fire at the college's student center.
The image was shared by Damon Brandau, a student who photographed the blaze while it was still burning inside the Student Center (S Building) on MATC's downtown Milwaukee campus, near 7th and State.
Brandau said the fire forced an evacuation as sprinklers activated and smoke filled part of the building. He said he stumbled upon the fire while heading to the cafeteria on the third floor of the S Building.
"I was just kind of here early to get some work done for class and whatnot, and then I was going upstairs to the cafeteria area to grab an energy drink on the third floor of the S Building. And I felt like a heat, I guess, a warmth, while I was walking over there, and I turned to my left and saw that the chair was on fire," Brandau said.
Watch: Student snaps photo of chair on fire at MATC's Student Center near 7th and State
After taking a photo of the fire, Brandau quickly sought help from a nearby staff member.
"I snapped a picture of it, and then I kind of ran over and told—I kind of screamed down one of the workers here and asked where the nearest fire extinguisher was, and then he came and grabbed it. But by that time, the entire building was pretty much up in smoke, and then the sprinklers had gone off and whatnot, and they kind of evacuated everybody out," Brandau said.
The fire comes at a critical time for students, with finals approaching and the academic year nearing its end.
"Today is like the second-to-last week, if not. And for most students, it is the last week, or because next week is just sort of a finalization of sort of things for professors to get, like, their stuff graded and whatnot, and so I wonder if class is canceled, that’s gonna put a bump in everybody's schedule," Brandau said.
When asked about who might be responsible for the fire, Brandau speculated it could be someone from outside the campus community.
"I think somebody unwell probably. I don’t think it was a student or a person of faculty here. Probably somebody, you know, who’s homeless is what I’m guessing. That’s my best guess—somebody who wants attention or something," Brandau said.
The Milwaukee Fire Department said that when crews arrived, the chair was already extinguished. Crews stayed on scene to ventilate the building and check for any injured students or staff members.
Thankfully, no injuries were reported. Milwaukee police responded to investigate the cause of the fire, which has not yet been released.
This is a developing story that will be updated as more information becomes available.
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