Fire alarms plague dorms

Fire alarms plague dorms

Frequency of drills causes complacent attitudes, apathy

By Patrick Marantal

and Brooke Olson

The ringing of the fire alarms in a residence hall during the
wee hours always awakens sleepers, interrupts studiers, and sobers
up those who are wasted.

And it happens again and again.

In less than two weeks, three false fire alarms have gone off in
Dykstra Hall – and in these peculiar instances, the false alarms
had nothing do do with fire drills or pranksters.

"There’s been a malfunction in the steam suppression system in
the kitchen" which set off the alarm, explained Ken Burkett, front
office manager for Dykstra Hall.

Replays of these false alarms, including one at 1 a.m., have
instilled a feeling of apathy about the alarm in some
residents.

"The boy-who-cried-wolf mentality is definitely created," said
Jason Seifer, a first-year international area studies student.
"Many students didn’t want to leave because they didn’t feel that
it was really necessary."

But despite Dykstra residents’ resistance to the alarm, resident
assistants (RAs) and staff members reaffirmed the need to view the
fire alarms as a serious issue.

"Even if I know that it’s a false alarm, the law asks us to
evacuate the building," Burkett said. "And if we don’t, it can
create complacency (among the residents)."

Should this complacent attitude manifest itself in the form of
students who don’t want to leave their beds, it is the resident
assistant’s duty to evacuate the students living on their floors –
even if they themselves believe that it is a false alarm, resident
assistants said.

"No, I’m not really worried," said Adrian Montero, a fourth-year
political science/history student and a resident assistant. "We
have procedures in place where we have to get everyone out of the
building and make sure that they’re safe."

Resident assistants are confident that the students will act
accordingly if the staff takes the emergency seriously, despite
some students’ lackadaisical attitude toward the alarms.

"People generally don’t take these things seriously," said Juan
Garcia, a third-year English student and a resident assistant. "The
RA’s job is to instill that seriousness."

Procedures for emergencies are essentially the same throughout
the dorms. When the alarm sounds, the fire department is
immediately notified. However, even glitches can exist in this
system – the fire department failed to appear during Dykstra’s
third false alarm.

"The fire department didn’t respond … (it) was probably a
fault in (Dykstra’s) system," Garcia admitted.

At the same time, the front desk was unable to reset the alarm,
causing it to ring continuously for more than half an hour.

Despite these errors, staff members have confidence in both the
building and the fire system.

"Part of the system is misfiring … but the rest of the
building is safe," Garcia said.

In the event of an emergency – or false alarm – the front desk
is responsible for calling the police department and notifying the
front desk supervisor and their resident director. In the dorm
rooms, the resident assistants must press what many refer to as the
"panic button," notifying the front desk that the resident
assistant has cleared the floor.

"If fires are not on my floor, then I am obligated to make sure
all my residents are safe," Garcia said.

As the students congregate outside of the dormitory, resident
assistants use their master keys to access all of the rooms on the
floor and usher outside any resistant students. Meanwhile, access
control and those at the front desk aid disabled students or help
resident assistants on the floor.

Staff members said that as a result of these false alarms, the
workers are now more prepared to handle a real emergency.

"These fire alarms have given us a chance to practice all of the
drills we were put through last summer," Montero said. "These
alarms definitely make the staff a lot more confident in case of an
actual emergency."

"People generally don’t take these things (fire alarms)
seriously. The RA’s job is to instill that seriousness."

Juan Garcia

Resident Assistant

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