Trouble alarms in McIntyre Library

At around 6:28 p.m. on Oct. 26, the night shift supervisor of the McIntyre Library called a UW-Eau Claire police officer to report an audible alarm sounding from the library’s fire panels. The caller explained that the trouble alarm was displayed identically on all panels.

The officer arrived at the McIntyre Library main entrance vestibule, where they noticed the fire panels in that vestibule were showing a trouble alert message and audibly sounding an alarm.

The officer photographed the panel’s display and made the on-call mechanic aware of the issue, who then advised the officer that they would have to notify an electrician. The officer did not get a response from either of the on-call electricians at that time, so they left a voicemail message.

Shortly after, one of the electricians responded and informed the officer that they could silence the alarm. After doing so, the officer reported this information to the night shift supervisor and said they should call again if any more issues with the alarms occurred.

The officer then cleared from the call. No new information about the issue is available at this time. However, the trouble alarm received a facilities issue service card. 

Elevator fears come true

At around 12:47 p.m. on Oct. 27, an officer was dispatched to Towers Hall North. There was a case of a stuck elevator. Two residents were trapped on the first floor of the building in elevator car #4, as reported by the Communications Center.

The problem was that the elevator doors would not open. Thankfully, there was no medical emergency occurring. A university police sergeant arrived to assist the officer, who then shut off car #4’s power.

Earlier that day, elevator car #3 was having mechanical difficulties and had its power shut off as well. Once the power was shut off for car #4, the officer and two other residents successfully opened the elevator doors, with some difficulty in opening the inner car doors.

With the doors now open, the residents trapped inside were able to get out. There were no visible injuries on either of them, and they both declined any need for medical attention. The officer gathered their contact information before they exited the elevator lobby.

On-call hall director Grace Becker was advised of the issue by the officer. Both elevator cars #3 and #4 were out of service. The officer answered any questions that Becker had.

The sergeant and the officer were then cleared from the call, and the case received a facilities issue service card. No new updates of the case are currently available.

Bumper cars in Davies Center parking lot

At around 1:27 p.m. on Oct. 29, an officer was dispatched to Davies Student Center parking lot due to a non-reportable crash investigation. The involved party was standing next to their vehicle, a white Chevrolet, when the officer arrived at the scene. 

The officer introduced themselves to the involved party, who then explained how the crash occurred. They were attempting a head-in parking movement into an open spot next to a white Hyundai. The Hyundai was not occupied at the time.

The Chevrolet driver under-corrected their turn, resulting in their front passenger’s side corner bumper coming into contact with the Hyundai rear driver’s side fender wheel panel and rim.

The driver was the only person in the Chevrolet at the time of the crash. They informed the officer that they were wearing their seatbelt and their vehicle was insured.

The officer inspected the crash further and noticed that the Chevrolet had some paint transferred marks on the area that came into contact with the Hyundai. There was no other visible damage to the Chevrolet reported at the time. 

The Hyundai was observed to have several small dents and scratches along the area that was hit, but no other visible damage. 

A record check was conducted by the officer on the Chevrolet and the involved party. The vehicle was valid and registered to the driver’s father. They were also valid with no wants and not on probation. The officer provided the driver with their card and number for insurance purposes.

The Hyundai also had a record check performed in order to find out who the registered owners were and inform them of the incident. The officer then met with the owner and the responsible operator at the scene, where they confirmed the damage had not been there prior to the crash.

The owners reported no other damage and informed the officer that the Hyundai was a 2023 model and was insured. Both of their record checks returned valid with no wants and not on probation. They were also given the officer’s card and number for insurance purposes.

The officer visually estimated that the collective damage to both vehicles would cost under $1,000. A UW-Eau Claire Police Department Non-Reportable Accident Form was completed.

Matczak can be reached at [email protected].