About 50 people were evacuated from East Palo Alto City Hall Tuesday evening after an arson fire filled the downstairs area with smoke and forced cancellation of the City Council meeting.
The one-alarm fire was set at about 4:45 p.m. in a trash can in a first-floor bathroom at 2415 University Ave., which houses the City Council chambers, administrative offices and library, Chief Harold Schapelhouman of the Menlo Park Fire Protection District said.
The fire was quickly controlled but required about 50 people to be evacuated, including students and staff at the library.
The three-story building’s sprinkler system was not activated because the trash can was set back in a wall, which prevented the flames from spreading, Schapelhouman said.
No injuries were reported. The City Council meeting was scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. but was canceled.
Police are following up on two juvenile suspects who were captured on surveillance video, Schapelhouman said.
And we thought Menlo Park’s council meetings were exciting ! Maybe
people should attending EPA’s
It would be interesting to know what was on the agenda for the council meeting this evening?
Was it really on-purpose arson? Or was it kids who were supposed to be in the Library, but were smoking in the bathroom?