A small fire broke out inside Berkeley's public safety communications center Wednesday evening, forcing dispatchers and officers to evacuate the building and sending the city's 911 calls to Alameda County for hours. Police said officers kept responding to emergencies even as the call-taking operation shifted outside city control.
Officers reported smoke and “water flooding the building” shortly before 5:30 p.m. as personnel rushed out, according to Berkeley Scanner. Authorities said the fire was small and began in an office, triggering the building's sprinkler system. With the communications center emptied out, officials said all emergency 911 calls were being transferred to Alameda County Dispatch while the Berkeley Police Department sorted out the scene.
Despite the evacuation, police stressed that emergency response in Berkeley didn't stop. The same report notes officers continued to respond to emergency calls even as dispatching moved to the county, meaning residents dialing 911 were still being connected to help — just through a different call center for the time being.
Padlocked Sprinkler Controls Complicated the Response
One detail stood out in the scramble to contain the flooding: the controls needed to shut off the sprinklers were reportedly secured with a padlock and chain, according to the same account from Berkeley Scanner, which could have slowed firefighters trying to stop the water damage. It's unclear who locked the controls or why, and the outlet did not report whether the delay worsened the flooding inside the building.
Exactly how long Berkeley's dispatch center stayed offline is murky. Berkeley Scanner reported an update at 10:15 p.m. stating the dispatch center had resumed normal operations, while NBC Bay Area reported that authorities announced just before 10:30 p.m. that the Communications Center had gone back to receiving 911 calls. Either way, the disruption stretched roughly five hours from the initial evacuation.
Few Details on Cause or Damage
Berkeley police have not said how, when or where in the building the fire started, nor how much damage it caused, according to Berkeleyside. The department also gave no estimated time for the communications center to reopen when it first announced the evacuation, according to a report from SFGATE.
The timing is notable given recent investment in the facility. Just six days before the fire, Berkeleyside reported that the dispatch center was set to receive $1 million in state funds to upgrade its hardware, outfit a new classroom and make other improvements. How, or whether, Wednesday's fire affects those plans remains to be seen.
