Fire alarm forces Comic Fest evacuation

An emergency evacuation was reported Saturday night at Phoenix Comic Fest, according to an reporter on the scene.

An announcement was made over the loudspeakers at the Phoenix Convention Center.

The evacuation was triggered by a fire alarm, according to a tweet at 8:05 p.m. from the Phoenix Comic Fest account. Officials with the event didn’t immediately return a call for comment.

“Fire alarm started going off,” Phoenix resident Christine Baumgartner, 29, said. “They (security) told us to move towards the exits.”

The Phoenix Fire Department was inside the building working on a sensor that may have triggered the alarm, according to a Phoenix police officer asking people to wait in line outside the building.

A reporter on the scene said that the announcement warned of an emergency incident and ordered people to immediately evacuate the building. Hundreds of attendees, including many young people and families with children, began leaving the building and exiting onto the street.

No additional details were available; check back with azcentral.com

Security tightened

for updates.

From men wearing nothing but golden Spandex and a fanny pack or decked out head-to-toe in Aladdin genie gear that includes a motorized magic carpet, you’ll see a lot at this year’s Phoenix Comic Fest. What you won’t see: guns.

This year, in addition to security, Comic Fest decided to ban all firearm-like props.

If it looks like a firearm, has a trigger or a barrel, it will not be allowed inside, said Nichole Nance, a spokeswoman for Comic Fest.

Safety precautions have been significantly increased after last year when a heavily armed man entered the Phoenix Convention Center with a plan to kill the green Power Ranger actor. He told law enforcement that he was “The Punisher” and wanted to kill bad police officers and a performer at the event, court records show.

Officials said he was arrested with: two .45-caliber handguns, a .454-caliber handgun, and a 12-gauge shotgun, all fully loaded; a combat knife; pepper spray; and throwing stars.

Comic Fest attendees noticed the boosted safety measures at this year’s convention.

Though an inconvenience that caused longer lines, most people approved of the changes given the recent mass shootings at public events across the nation.

“With everything that happened, of course, we have had some people that have been skeptical and have been just waiting to see what we do,” Nance said. “They want to make sure they’re coming to a safe environment and we want to make sure everyone is as safe as possible.”

‘I feel a lot safer than I did before’

Working with Pride Group, an events company, organizers for the convention have implemented radio-frequency identification wristbands and scanners, metal detectors and wands, in addition to splitting up lanes with dedicated entrances based on costumes and bags.

Many attendees considered the security changes an improvement for an event that draws comics fans by the thousands, including hundreds of young people and families.

“I was actually here last year and security is much improved,” said Sam Lawson, a Comic Fest attendee dressed as a vault dweller in the popular video game Fall Out.

Lawson said the safety measures limit creativity.

“Basically, you just have to pick an outfit that doesn’t have a whole lot of weaponry attached to it,” he said, adding that “with video games, movies and comics, those characters have weapons of some form or another, so it does kinda put a damper on what you can do.”

For those who bring gun-like props, security will tell them to take it to their car or hotel room, in place of confiscation.

“Other conventions do still allow fake guns, so we can use them there,” said Shawn Richter, a Comic Fest attendee dressed as a steam-punk Batman.

Richter said because he lives in San Diego, he attends a lot of conventions such as San Diego Comi-Con. He had planned to attend last year’s convention, but canceled his trip last minute after hearing he couldn’t bring any of his props inside the building.

“It always surprises me, in this day and age, how few conventions have metal detectors, because to me that’s really what’s going to keep people safe,” Richter said. “If someone is going to bring a gun in or something, a metal detector is going to catch it.

“Now that more conventions, like Phoenix now, have metal detectors and wanding, I feel a lot safer than I did before,” he said.