TEMPE, AZ — Fire crews from Tempe, Scottsdale, Mesa, Phoenix and Chandler responded to a second alarm fire at an ASU building under construction Tuesday night.
Tempe, Scottsdale, Mesa, Chandler and Phoenix units responded to the blaze near Rural Road and University Drive around 6:35 p.m.
A Fire has started on the roof of the ISTB 7 building. Tempe Fire is in scene.
— Arizona State University Police Department (@ASUPolice) May 12, 2021
This building is under construction, so no active classes or research are taking place. pic.twitter.com/s491xk53hc
Officials say construction materials on the roof caught fire, but it is unclear at this time how the fire started.
Crews say the fire was fought defensively due to the risk of collapse and other dangers. Firefighters made an aggressive attack and were able to get the fire under control using aerial ladder devices.
An ASU spokesperson said the fire sparked after a spontaneous combustion of roof insulation materials.
Read the full statement from ASU below.
"Official investigation by the Arizona State University Fire Marshal into Tuesday night’s fire at ASU’s ISTB7 building, under construction at the corner of University Drive and Rural Road, has determined that the cause of the fire was the spontaneous combustion of materials being utilized to insulate the roof. The fire spread to other combustible materials, but was contained to only a portion of the roof area by the Tempe Fire Department. There were no reported injuries.
Remediation efforts have begun through McCarthy Construction, the general contractor for the construction project. There is no projection yet on whether this will impact the schedule for opening the building, which is scheduled for late 2021.
The Interdisciplinary Science and Technology Building 7 is a new, unfinished, approximately 281,000 gross-square-foot, high-performance research facility. When complete, it will provide a home to an interdisciplinary approach to knowledge generation and leading-edge research, including innovative endeavors focusing on the sustainability of food, water, and energy.
ISTB7 will house Global Futures, the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability, the Rob and Melani Walton Sustainability Solutions Service, School of Sustainability, and the Institute of Human Origins."
There are no reported injuries at this time.
