On Sept. 14 at 12:50 p.m. the Bakersfield College Weill Institute was evacuated due to a smoke alarm being activated in an elevator inside the building. The Kern Community College District’s Board of Trustees meeting was scheduled to meet at 1 p.m. that day, and was postponed due to the incident.

The Bakersfield Fire Department arrived on the scene in a matter of minutes to investigate the incident, which was cleared as a false alarm. At 1:08 p.m. the building was cleared and students were allowed to return to class. The board of trustees meeting was also allowed to continue as planned, albeit 10 minutes later than scheduled.