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Fog Machine In Art Exhibit Prompts False Fire Alarms In Market Square

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Where there's smoke there's fire. But fog signals art, as Pittsburgh firefighters are quickly learning.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says firefighters have been called to Market Square downtown at least twice - including once Thursday morning - by people who reported smoke when they saw machine-generated fog that's part of a new art installation.

"A Winter Landscape Cradling Bits of Sparkle" by artist Jennifer Wen Ma is a small oasis of mulched trees enveloping a small, boardwalk path.

MarketSquare-Fog-Art
(Photo Credit: KDKA)

The fog machine belches every 10 minutes to simulate a cloudy mountaintop.

The Office of Public Art, a public-private agency, says firefighters are being advised and that the intensity of the fog bursts may be toned down to lessen the chance of future false alarms.

The installation began Feb. 19 and runs through April 12.

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