A red Ford Mustang caught fire on the fourth floor of the San Jose State West Parking Garage, around 9:20 a.m.
The fire was extinguished by 9:50 a.m., according to an AlertSJSU message sent out to students.
No one was injured in the fire, according to the same message.
Three cars were damaged and the owners were contacted, according to University Police Department Capt. Frank Belcastro in an email interview.
According to Belcastro, the fire appeared to have been electrical in nature, not arson.
Belcastro said students asleep in a nearby car were alerted and assisted to evacuate.
Psychology junior Michelle Murillo Cortez and a friend were asleep in her car on the fourth floor in the West Garage when the fire started.
“I took action [by] waking up my friend,” she said during an email interview. “So we [could] evacuate the building as soon as possible.”
Cortez said two police officers helped her and her friend evacuate the garage.
“To be completely honest, I'm glad they were there,” she said. “It was difficult to see and breathe due to the smoke.”
Not everyone had as dramatic of an evacuation.
“Cops showed up first, blocked everyone in, asked everyone to walk out on foot,” said child and development junior Zain Farkouh. “Before I left the glass exploded. That’s why they were yelling at everyone to leave.”
Farkouh said her car was parked about four cars away from the Mustang.
“There was no one in the car,” she said. “It just started smoking, and then – it’s like a convertible car – so it caught on fire pretty quickly.”
By 10:30 a.m., cars were allowed to exit the garage and floors one through three were reopened to the public.
