Fresno firefighters were on the scene at the Fresno City College Art and Home Economics Building on Nov. 21 when an electrical outlet started emitting smoke during an art class.

FCC art instructor Anne Scheid said she was in the middle of her drawing class when she plugged in a light, then saw a spark and smoke coming from the outlet. She said the smoke persisted, prompting her to alert authorities and have her class evacuated from the room.

“I didn’t like the smoking for five minutes,” Scheid said. “I’m not going to take the chance, so  I called dispatch and I explained the situation, and they sent the police and they said ‘we’re not taking the chance let’s call the fire department.’”

Some confusion arose when Scheid tried to contact the police department but could not, due to a mislabeled phone button. A red sticker covered the 2 on the panic button which, according to directions, should be pressed for emergencies.

“It’s annoying,” said Scheid about the mislabeled button. “I need to get access to the police, the instructions are clear, but when I look at the phone, there’s a red dot and a 2, so I push the 2.  It could have been disastrous; fortunately, it was not.”

State Center Community College District employees including Police Chief Bruce Hartman,   Director of Environmental Health and Safety Darren Cousineau and Associate Vice Chancellor for Business and Operations Brian Speece were on the scene to send out the “all clear” on the phone system after firefighters had assessed the situation.

This phone mishap adds to the issues that the district has been dealing with regarding communication. The district’s safety officers were widely criticized following a shooting on campus on Oct. 14, 2013.  Many students and staff complained that the police did not respond in a timely fashion.