Smoldering curtain in Phillips Hall prompts fire authority response

Reporting by Geovanni Esparza and Chris Treble

Orange County Fire Authority put out a smoldering curtain in Phillips Hall that was ignited by a shining spotlight just before 10 a.m. Tuesday. Nobody was injured, and the aging 60-year-old building was not damaged.

“There was a curtain inside Phillips Hall that made contact with a light with enough heat to cause the curtain to smolder,” said OCFA Battalion Chief Anthony Espinosa. “Our members caught it and separated the heat source from the curtain, and it stopped burning.”

Around 9:45 a.m., Santa Ana College administrators called fire authorities after smelling smoke inside the performance space, which does not have an automatic fire alarm.

Three fire trucks responded and firefighters in full gear were seen entering the building and accessing the roof from two ladder trucks. While no flames were visible from the outside, students said they could smell smoke.

“I was walking to class in front of the theater and smelled smoke. Firefighters were setting up a big fan at the doors,” said music major Kirk Wilson.

Associate Dean of Fine and Performing Arts Carin Jacobs was the first to smell smoke on the stage while doing a walk through of Phillips Hall this morning and called Maintenance and Operations.

After Maintenance and Operations officials confirmed the same smell, they called OCFA, and the two teams began looking for the source of the smoke.

“There was never any fire. It was just a smoldering curtain, and our curtains in the theater are fire retardant,” said Jacobs, noting that the fire didn’t spread past the curtain. “The fire retardant curtains did their job, and it warned us in time to be able to call the authorities and have them determine that we just needed to get rid of the smoldering curtain.”

Officials said OCFA ventilated the area with their fans and equipment while District Safety personnel handled traffic control in the area.

Tuesdays are not class days in Phillips Hall, and classes in the Black Box Theater are unaffected.

District Safety and Security sent an email informing staff about the incident within an hour and a half but chose not to send a district-wide RAVE alert because the incident was contained.

“[Information]was just sent to staff and anybody who has an email with the college just to let them know the presence of the fire trucks because of the emergency,” said Senior District Safety Officer Elizabeth Motley.