{
  "id": "2024-02-27-indiana-university-assembly-hall-fire-alarm",
  "slug": "indiana-university-assembly-hall-fire-alarm-2024-02-27",
  "institution": {
    "name": "Indiana University Bloomington",
    "shortName": "IU",
    "state": "IN",
    "type": "public-r1",
    "alertSystemName": "IU-Notify",
    "enrollment": 47558
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2024-02-27",
    "type": "fire",
    "cleryCategory": "emergency-notification",
    "resolution": "unfounded",
    "headline": "Fire alarm evacuates the basketball arena mid-game; no fire found",
    "headlinePublic": "Fire alarm evacuates the basketball arena mid-game; no fire found",
    "summary": "On the night of February 27, 2024, [a fire alarm sounded inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall](https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/fans-evacuated-from-indianas-win-over-wisconsin-after-fire-alarm-goes-off-at-assembly-hall/) midway through the second half of the Indiana vs. Wisconsin men's basketball game. The alarm went off at 10:06 remaining in the second half, [25 seconds after John Blackwell tied the game at 54](https://sports.yahoo.com/indianas-assembly-hall-evacuated-in-bizarre-scene-midway-through-game-vs-wisconsin-030520882.html) for the Badgers. Both teams left the court and the 17,222-seat arena was evacuated. Bloomington Fire Department crews found that a smoke detector near a balcony elevator had been activated; no fire was present. Fans began re-entering about 20 minutes later and play resumed after a five-minute warmup.",
    "outcome": "Indiana won 74-70. No injuries. No fire was found. Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard joked postgame, 'It was a great timeout for whoever from Indiana pulled the fire alarm cause we were making a run.'"
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestampApprox": "Approximately 8:30 p.m. EST, February 27, 2024, posted by @IndianaMBB shortly after the fire alarm activation",
      "channel": "twitter-x",
      "verbatimText": "The game has been delayed due to the fire alarms going off inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Please evacuate if you are inside the building. We will provide further updates when available.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/IndianaMBB/status/1762651241048400263",
      "sourceDescription": "Verbatim from the @IndianaMBB (Indiana Basketball) X/Twitter post issued during the February 27, 2024 fire-alarm evacuation",
      "annotations": [
        "Verbatim @IndianaMBB X/Twitter post issued shortly after the in-arena fire alarm activated with 10:06 remaining in the second half, 25 seconds after John Blackwell's back-to-back layups tied the game at 54",
        "[Indiana state law](https://www.athleticbusiness.com/facilities/stadium-arena/article/15665170/ius-assembly-hall-evacuated-midgame-due-to-fire-alarm) requires a full evacuation when a building fire alarm is activated, regardless of whether smoke or fire is visually confirmed",
        "Both teams left the court immediately and the arena was evacuated as alarms continued to sound intermittently; the @IndianaMBB account served as the primary public communication channel during the evacuation"
      ],
      "characterCount": 189
    }
  ],
  "context": "[Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Skjodt_Assembly_Hall) is the basketball home of the [Indiana Hoosiers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiana_Hoosiers_men%27s_basketball) and seats 17,222. The February 27, 2024 fire-alarm evacuation midway through the second half of the No. 13 Wisconsin vs. Indiana game was the rare case of an in-progress college basketball game halted by a fire-life-safety event rather than a weather, equipment, or security issue. [The alarm went off](https://www.wthr.com/article/sports/local-sports/fire-alarms-lead-to-evacuation-of-assembly-hall-during-indiana-wisconsin-basketball-game/531-229b40de-4acf-49dd-ab32-6a673b727445) just after Wisconsin's John Blackwell tied the game at 54 with back-to-back layups. Indiana state fire code required full evacuation. The Bloomington Fire Department traced the trigger to a smoke detector near a balcony elevator; no fire was present. Fans were back in about 20 minutes, play resumed after a five-minute warmup, and Indiana won 74-70. The incident matters less for its drama than for what it documents: arena fire-alarm evacuations are typically silent in the public record because they are short, false, and absorbed into the box score as a 'lengthy delay.' Indiana's was preserved because national TV cameras were rolling and because Wisconsin's coach made a memorable joke about it afterward.",
  "keyFindings": [
    "Fire-alarm evacuations of college basketball arenas during games are routine in code but rare on national TV, the February 27, 2024 incident was preserved largely because of its broadcast visibility",
    "Indiana state law requires full evacuation when a building fire alarm is activated, regardless of whether smoke is visible, overriding any in-game discretion by event staff",
    "The 20-minute round trip from evacuation to resumption is typical for a single-trigger false alarm with rapid fire-department clearance",
    "The Bloomington Fire Department's identification of a balcony elevator smoke detector as the trigger illustrates how minor sensor activations cascade into mass evacuations at large venues"
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Fans evacuated from Indiana's win over Wisconsin after fire alarm goes off at Assembly Hall (CBS Sports)",
      "url": "https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/fans-evacuated-from-indianas-win-over-wisconsin-after-fire-alarm-goes-off-at-assembly-hall/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Ware helps Indiana outlast Wisconsin 74-70 in game delayed by fire alarm (WTHR / AP)",
      "url": "https://www.wthr.com/article/sports/local-sports/fire-alarms-lead-to-evacuation-of-assembly-hall-during-indiana-wisconsin-basketball-game/531-229b40de-4acf-49dd-ab32-6a673b727445",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Indiana's Assembly Hall evacuated in bizarre scene midway through game vs. Wisconsin (Yahoo Sports)",
      "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/indianas-assembly-hall-evacuated-in-bizarre-scene-midway-through-game-vs-wisconsin-030520882.html",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Wisconsin-Indiana men's basketball delayed at Assembly Hall (ESPN)",
      "url": "https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/39612472/wisconsin-indiana-men-basketball-delayed-assembly-hall",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "IU's Assembly Hall Evacuated Mid-Game Due to Fire Alarm (Athletic Business)",
      "url": "https://www.athleticbusiness.com/facilities/stadium-arena/article/15665170/ius-assembly-hall-evacuated-midgame-due-to-fire-alarm",
      "type": "other"
    },
    {
      "title": "Verbatim from the @IndianaMBB (Indiana Basketball) X/Twitter post issued during the February 27, 2024 fire-alarm evacuat",
      "url": "https://x.com/IndianaMBB/status/1762651241048400263",
      "type": "official-archive"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "medium",
  "tags": [
    "fire-alarm",
    "fire",
    "arena-evacuation",
    "assembly-hall",
    "basketball",
    "indiana",
    "big-ten",
    "false-alarm",
    "smoke-detector",
    "indoor-venue",
    "public-r1"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-05-13",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-07-16",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}