The press preview of the San Diego Comic-Con activation for HBO’s “The Penguin” was evacuated on Friday night after a fire seemingly broke out on the roof of a neighboring building. It has since reopened.
Roughly an hour and a half into the event, security came rumbling through the various rooms of the Iceberg Lounge, herding attendees out the door. The fire started at approximately 7:30 p.m. local time and was active for roughly an hour.
A steakhouse kitchen vent caused the fire, the City of San Diego media relations division told TheWrap. The activation reopened at around 9:20 p.m. local time.
Local police further confirmed a fire, but flames could not be seen. However, the area near the corner of E Street and 4th was hazy with smoke. The building was quickly cordoned off, with many emergency vehicles responding. Additionally, water could be seen covering the streets from an unknown source, while fire alarms continued to ring.
“We’re here at 904th Ave. in downtown San Diego. The Fire Department is busy working a structure fire here on the block. As you can see, there’s a lot of assets on scene for both police and fire and the fire is still active and that’s why they’re not able to speak right now; they’re busy working the fire. There are no additional evacuations at this time,” an officer told TheWrap. “We are asking people in vehicles to stay away from the area, take alternate routes.”
Roughly 100 invited guests were taking part in the secret ’44 Below’ room hidden within the Iceberg Lounge when the lights suddenly turned on, with attendees promptly being ushered outside.
It took a moment for people inside the event to realize the evacuation was real, as the activation was themed around The Penguin’s nightclub, so a fake raid would make sense for the universe of Batman.
According to a bouncer at Bloom nightclub, there was no damage done to the interior of the building.
