Thoughts on Thursday’s fires at Sacramento State are varied throughout the campus community.

Michael Thai, graphic design major, was in the Mendocino Hall when the alarm went off.

“We all thought someone pulled the fire alarm,” Thai said. “What is the chance of a real fire happening?”

Thai did not smell or see any smoke until after the building was evacuated and the firefighters arrived at around 3 p.m.

“The firemen set up fans and blew out the smoke,” Thai said. “That’s when we were able to smell the smoke.”

Thai received an email through Sac State twice and from the dean of graphic design about the fires.

The fire affected Judy Rodriguez, Spanish professor, in both her office and classrooms.

Rodriguez could not get her belongings until Friday.

“It smelled horrible on Friday,” Rodriguez said. “It was considerably better than what it was on Thursday.”

Rodriguez had a headache because of the building’s smell.

Rodriguez found out about the fires when exiting class in Solano Hall at 3:50 p.m. on Thursday.

“At first I thought it might be because in the past we had several alarms go off in this building due to glitches,” Rodriguez said. “But seeing so many firefighters and people with their cameras and the broken windows you could tell it was something different than in the past.”

Linda Gates, women’s studies major, said she thought someone was pulling a prank or they were angry with a teacher.

Gates’ classes in Mariposa Hall have become humid due to the air filtering machines.

“When I left I had a headache,” Gates said. “The smell is still in the air.”

Colin McAteer can be reached at [email protected]