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A minor fire broke out in a McKale Center equipment room on Saturday night

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Things could have gone from bad (UCLA’s 66-10 win) to worse for Arizona fans on Saturday night.

Apparently a fire broke out in an equipment room at McKale Center, Arizona’s home arena, as reported by multiple news outlets.

According to Tucson Fire Department spokesman Capt. Barrett Baker, smoke detectors were set off by the small blaze at around 9:30 PM Saturday and upon arrival firefighters saw smoke coming from the roof of the arena.

There were no reported injuries as a result of the fire, and both the cause of the fire and the extent of the damage are still under investigation.

Based on the details provided by the TFD and the fact that a women’s volleyball game took place on Sunday afternoon, it’s safe to assume that nothing serious came of the fire.

Here are some details on what firefighters saw on Saturday night:

An attack team, consisting of 10 firefighters, entered McKale to determine the location of the fire, along with help from UAPD. The alarm panel specified a certain room and the firefighters confirmed they had heavy smoke and water coming out of the room from under the door. Firefighters made entry into the room and had flames showing along with heavy smoke. They quickly extinguished the fire but visibility was minimal due to the amount of residual smoke.

A sprinkler head had activated in the room, assisting in the extinguishment of the fire. Actions were immediately taken to evacuate as much smoke as possible to improve visibility and get secondary confirmation the entire fire was controlled. Firefighters from two ladder trucks had also made their way to the roof of McKale to ensure the fire had not spread to the roof.

Two alarms were dispatched to the scene, consisting of twenty-one units and forty-eight firefighters. There were no injuries to firefighters. The cause of the fire is currently under investigation and no estimation of damages had been made.


McKale Center, named for former coach and athletic director J.F. “Pop” McKale, opened on February 1, 1973 with an 87-69 Arizona victory over Wyoming.

The court is named Lute and Bobbi Olson Court in honor of the school’s winningest coach and his late wife.

The Wildcats, preseason pick to win the Pac-12, play their second exhibition on Tuesday night against Chico State and open the regular season on Sunday against Charleston Southern.

Photo credit: University of Arizona

Raphielle is also the assistant editor at CollegeHoops.net and can be followed on Twitter at @raphiellej.