Fire officials blame spontaneous combustion for starting a fire at the University of Wisconsin’s Memorial Union Sunday afternoon.
They say it’s likely the automatic sprinkler system may have saved the structure from some heavy damage.
Firefighters say they encountered smoke in the first-floor kitchen when they arrived on the scene and it was getting thicker.
They say they found piles of oily kitchen rags smoldering in a custodial room.
The building was ventilated quickly.
The sprinklers were installed during building updates five and 10 years ago.
