The thought of waking up early for class is dreadful enough for many students, and unofficial fire alarms in student housing were an even more rude awakening for residents last week.
A memo sent out on Feb. 25 to La Maison residents addressed two false fire alarms that happened last week in the middle of the night. They were suspected to be pranks, which the letter condemns as “inappropriate and disruptive.”
Official announced fire alarms are scheduled at least once a semester to ensure residents are properly prepared for an actual emergency.
Rebecca Plaisance, a resident of La Maison, was asleep in her apartment when the false alarms sounded.
“I was really aggravated because it’s the worst way to wake up in the middle of the night,” Plaisance said. “With all the loud noises and flashing lights, I was so disoriented. I was wondering if it was even real.”
Rebecca’s confusion was shared with many other residents, and it is a cause for concern for Lisa Grubbs, Director of Housing and Resident Life.
“Hopefully people understand that this is not funny, it’s dangerous,” Grubbs said. “It can start a ‘cry wolf’ mentality. If people think it’s a false alarm and don’t evacuate, they’re in jeopardy.”
“I think it’s really excessive,” said Kaity Mattsson, another La Maison resident. “People are going to start thinking they’re not real and not responding.The people behind these pranks are unknown. Besides being annoying to residents as an inconvenience and a lack of consideration, raising a false alarm is a crime punishable by a hefty fine or even imprisonment.
Grubbs pointed to the possibility that these events were related to Thursday and Friday evenings being “social nights,” suggesting that perhaps the pranksters were not in a right state of mind when the alarms were pulled.
Residents are encouraged to report suspicious activity and to remain watchful if another false alarm should be pulled.
“Everybody needs to work together to make sure this stops,” Grubbs said. “Regardless of whatever the reason is, it’s a dangerous, serious thing. This isn’t going to be tolerated. It can’t be.”
