Fire Department

A fire alarm sent firefighters to the Biochemistry building on the UW-Madison campus Monday afternoon. The alarm panel inside the Fire Command room indicated a detector activation on the 5th floor. A building manager on site surmised the issue probably stemmed from an autoclave, a high-pressure machine often used for steam sterilization.

Firefighters proceeded to the 5th floor and found steam coming from an autoclave situated near the tripped detector. The building manager shut down the autoclave, and the steam began to dissipate.