The Memorial Union was evacuated shortly after 5 p.m. Wednesday after a fire sprinkler was set off on the lower level, officials said.
Phil Rohe, spokesman for the Tempe Fire Department, said firefighters believed a broken sprinkler pipe caused flooding.
MU official Jeffrey Rensel said the building was evacuated for about 45 minutes after a sprinkler head went off in the south end of the lower level.
“Recovery is currently in progress,” Rensel said Wednesday evening.
The amount of damage caused by the flooding is unknown, but MU officials called in maintenance staff after the fire department left and contacted a restoration company.
The fire marshal’s office and the police department are still investigating what caused the incident, Rensel said.
Lyza Carson, an elementary education junior, was in the MU when the alarm went off.
“We thought it was a drill,” she said. “No one was getting out that fast. I was at Chick-fil-A and the cashier just kept working.”
