Fire Dept. Responds to Burning Owl Dookie

After chaos ensues, firefighters discover source of smell.

Someone smelled smoke at Cal State East Bay shortly after 10 a.m. Tuesday. The fire alarm was pulled. People were running in and out of the four-story science building. Dogs and cats were living together... Mass hysteria! 

After the manual alarm was pulled, firefighters arrived on the scene with two trucks and at least four engines, but the source of the burning smell still was unknown.

"It caused a lot of havoc for us," Hayward fire Capt. Thor Poulsen told the Oakland Tribune.

"We got there, and students were running out of the building," he said. "Some said there was smoke; some said there wasn't. ... We were hauling a hose up the stairs. We were on high alert."

Finally firefighters found the source of the chaos in Room 212.

"They were cooking owl pellets at 300 degrees for a certain amount of time to kill bacteria," Poulsen said. "Somebody smelled it -- apparently it smells a little bit -- and pulled the fire alarm."

Perhaps next time someone will hang a sign, alerting passers-by of their poo-cooking activities.

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