‘I was dumbfounded’: Student stunned after finding a chair on fire at MATC’s student center

By Jay Sirkin

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    MILWAUKEE (WTMJ) — A student at Milwaukee Area Technical College captured a dramatic photo Tuesday morning of a chair on fire at the college’s student center.

That student was Damon Brandan, who said he photographed the blaze while it was still burning inside the Student Center (S Building) on MATC’s downtown Milwaukee campus, near 7th and State.

Brandan said he stumbled upon the fire while heading to the cafeteria on the third floor of the S Building.

“I was just kind of here early to get some work done for class and whatnot, and then I was going upstairs to the cafeteria area to grab an energy drink on the third floor of the S Building. And I felt like a heat, I guess—a warmth—while I was walking over there, and I turned to my left and saw that the chair was on fire,” Brandan said.

After taking a photo of the fire, Brandan quickly sought help from a nearby staff member.

“I snapped a picture of it, and then I kind of ran over and told—I kind of screamed down one of the workers here and asked where the nearest fire extinguisher was, and then he came and grabbed it. But by that time, the entire building was pretty much up in smoke, and then the sprinklers had gone off and whatnot, and they kind of evacuated everybody out,” Brandan said.

Brandan said the fire came at a critical time for students, with finals approaching and the academic year nearing its end.

“Today is like the second-to-last week, if not. And for most students, it is the last week, because next week is just sort of a finalization of things, and for professors to get their stuff graded. So, if class is canceled, that’s gonna put a bump in everybody’s schedule,” Brandan explained.

When asked about who might be responsible for the fire, Brandan speculated it could be someone from outside the campus community.

“I think somebody unwell, probably. I don’t think it was a student or faculty here. Probably somebody, you know, who’s homeless is what I’m guessing. That’s my best guess—somebody who wants attention or something,” Brandan said.

The Milwaukee Fire Department said that when crews arrived, the chair was already extinguished. Firefighters stayed on scene to ventilate the building and check for any injured students or staff members.

Thankfully, no injuries were reported. Milwaukee police responded to investigate the cause of the fire.

In an update later Tuesday evening, an MATC representative said a suspect was located and taken into custody by MATC Public Safety officers Tuesday afternoon after being spotted by an employee near 8th and State.

He was later arrested by the Milwaukee Police Department for the alleged arson. The S Building was closed due to water damage; however, all other buildings and campuses are open.

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