SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A fire alarm that turned out to be nothing blared several times shortly after the conclusion of the first quarter Saturday night at Chase Center, where the Golden State Warriors beat the Detroit Pistons 115-110.
The main scoreboard immediately alerted fans of the situation and asked them to evacuate the venue. Hundreds of people quickly began to move in the stands and in the main concourse before an announcement was made that all was OK and it had been a “false alarm.”
Players for both teams remained near their benches during the confusion, which caused a delay of approximately five minutes for the start of the second quarter.
“Somebody told us just to stay put,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “It’s the first time I’ve ever been a part of anything like that in my NBA career. That was a bizarre few minutes but thankfully it was a false alarm. You have to have those alarms in, obviously, they’re there for a good reason and every once in a while you get a false one. But I’ve never seen one in the entire arena during a game.”
The message on the big screen read, in all caps:
“Attention: There has been a fire alarm reported in the building. Proceed to the nearest exit and leave the building. Do not use elevators.”
The PA system and music didn't immediately return.
Several security personnel said they didn't recall anything like this previously happening during a game here, but that there had been an alarm previously while a concert was being held at the 5-year-old arena.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
Janie Mccauley, The Associated Press
