Written by Russ Gray
Fire alarm systems are designed to alert residents and fire departments to hazards and emergencies, but recently a string of false fire alarms at Shores Hall have caused more annoyance than urgency.Over the course of two days (Sept. 3 and 4) the fire alarms in Shores Hall were set off six times, all late at night. All alarms indicated different rooms were the central cause of the alarm, but the rooms’ residents claimed they were not doing anything that would set off the alarms. Many of the residents who were in the dorm and had to be evacuated expressed frustration because of the alarms going off at random hours.Senior Morgan McCall said she experienced five of the six fire alarms over the weekend, all but one of which occurred after curfew. “It’s very irritating,” McCall said. “Most of us are frustrated, and we want the problem fixed.”With every alarm, residents were asked to leave the building, even with the knowledge that the system was going off on its own.Senior transfer student Lacey Dykes, who is also a resident in Shores, said she has never experienced something like this in any dorm she has lived in before.”One has to wonder if the alarms are going off randomly, will they go off if there is an actual fire?” Dykes said. “It’s good to know that the alarms work, but false alarms are making some residents want to not leave the dorm and stay in bed.”A common theme among the residents is a feeling of aggravation because the alarms have been cutting into sleep time.”Most of us are irritated by this,” Dykes said. “We want it fixed so we can get the sleep we need and not be waiting for the alarms to randomly go off.””It’s not fair to the students,” McCall added. “This was a problem last year as well, and most of the alarms occurred after curfew.”Harding Department of Public Safety has no updates on the situation at this time.
