Hold on to your jacket, it's fire alarm season

Late October 9 marked the beginning of what many University Tower Resident Assistants have titled, “fire alarm season.” At 2:33 a.m., Tower residents woke to the sound of alarms piercing through the silence of the night. Subsequently, each resident made their way down the stairwells, through the doorways leading outside and onto the sidewalk bordering the CROF, the field located adjacent to the Lockefield Gardens Apartments. 

While walking across the street, Keeghan McLain, a freshman and resident at University Tower, stated her concerns regarding the incident.

“I have a speech at 9 a.m. What is going on?” McLain said.

The chatter of confused students carried on but were not drowned out by police cars or ambulances. In fact, the first personnel to arrive to the scene were driving a white IUPUI truck and white IUPUI van. These vehicles arrived at 2:53 a.m., exactly 20 minutes from the time the alarm first rang. At 2:58, 25 minutes after the sounding of the alarm, police cars arrived and surrounded the north entrance to University Tower. At 3:01, 28 minutes after the triggering of the alarm, four fire trucks arrived on the scene.

After the ambulances and fire trucks left the scene and students were permitted to enter the building, an RA commented that the alarm was confirmed to have been pulled by a student. Cole Stenftenagel, a freshman was not amused by the stunt.

“I am very irritated and do not appreciate being woken up at this time,” Stenftenagel said.

Three days later, on October 12, residents of University Tower heard the alarm ring once again. At 3:01 a.m., students and staff began making their way down the stairwells. This time, however, there was not a chance for chatter in the silent night as, confirmed at 3:07 a.m., first responders were already parked outside the building. The response time of police during this incident was at least 19 minutes less than the incident on Wednesday morning and that of the ambulances was at least 22 minutes less. 

Freshman and resident of University Tower, Annemarie Stacy, was not impressed by the time frame in which the alarms occurred. Standing outside in the cold during the incident on Saturday with a blanket tightly gripped in her palms, the student’s humor withheld against the chill temperature.

“It’s going to be a weekly thing. Imagine in the winter,” Stacey said.

The amount of future fire alarms to occur during the remainder of the fire alarm season are unknown. It is important that students are prepared for alarms by knowing the fire safety instructions and by keeping jackets easily available for quick access in case an alarm sounds.