Hot steam set off a fire alarm Saturday evening in Kaufman Hall, and water filled offices and floors of the building.
What at first looked like smoke emerging from the top of the hall was actually steam rising slowly into the evening sky.
“It was a steam leak, not a fire,” said university police Sgt. Mark Littlestone.
Water also eventually made its way down the front steps and onto the side path of Kaufman.
Water was hottest in the lower floors of the building, and the water cooled off a bit by the time it reached the upper floors in the main lobby and made its way outside down the steps, UCPD said.
UCLA maintenance staff members, some of who struggled to get into the rooms where the steam pressure was strongest, had the water pipes under control after not too long.
The alarm was set off at roughly 9:41 p.m., UCPD dispatch said at the scene of the incident.
University police arrived shortly after to assess the matter, and no one was injured, they added.
UCPD dispatch at the scene said that at least eight offices had been flooded due to the breakage, though the exact cause of the damage is still unknown.
A UCLA Facilities Management official confirmed it was due to a ruptured steam line.
Steam traveling through pipes all throughout UCLA’s campus are what heat the school, he said.
Authorities at the incident warned people to stay away due to the extremely high water temperatures and the possibility of injuries.
The east side of Kaufman appeared to have water damage, though the exact extent has yet to be verified Littlestone said.
“They’re going to have to (assess) for moisture and water damage,” he said.
With reports from Carolyn McGough, Bruin senior staff.