Santa Ana : Watering of Flowers Blamed for Evacuation

An unidentified plant-lover was believed responsible for a false alarm that cleared a county government building in downtown Santa Ana Tuesday.

Three fire engines, two fire trucks, a squad unit and a battalion chief--21 firefighters in all--answered an 8:40 a.m. fire alarm in the basement of the county Engineering and Finance Building, according to Battalion Chief Timothy J. Graber of the Santa Ana Fire Department.

More than 150 county employees scrambled from the building after the alarm sounded, he said.

Fire investigators later determined that an alarm probably was triggered by someone watering plants with a 2 1/2-inch fire hose on the roof of the building at 12 Civic Center Drive, Graber said. An alarm goes off when the hose is used, he said.

The building was evacuated for about half an hour, Graber said.