Fire alarm forces out residents

Pajama-clad Read Center residents were roused from their rooms by a screeching siren to stand in the freezing cold Wednesday night.\nIt's an ordeal they're getting used to.\nThe eighth false fire alarm of the semester at Read led to the displacement of residents for more than 75 minutes late Wednesday and early Thursday as officials checked to make sure the building was fully evacuated.\nRead Center officials sent out an e-mail last month warning that any further false alarms would lead to room checks to ensure residents followed evacuation procedures.\nNo students were found in the building during the check, which lasted from when the alarm went off at 11:27 p.m. Wednesday until 12:45 a.m. Thursday.\n"Our primary concern is safety when evacuating the building," Assistant Residence Manager Angie Montelongo said. "With this many pulls, students may start to think that every alarm is a pull. We want them to realize that every one could be real, and it needs to be treated like a real fire."\nMany students considered this false alarm to be one of the least annoying of the semester.\n"This one wasn't as bad because it wasn't at 4 a.m. when you have to wake up for an 8 a.m. class," freshman Justin Meyer said. "We just went over to Willkie and watched the big screen TV. Altogether it's been a major problem, but last night was pretty minor."\nEight false alarms in a semester has led many residents to question why Read hasn't instituted video cameras or ink cartridges to monitor the pull stations.\n"When you talk about those things obviously there are budget and finance concerns," Montelongo said. "We've asked (IU Police Department) to make additional rounds in the buildings late night and early morning. That seems to be effective. This alarm was the first in weeks." \nMontelongo also said that they have been relying on plastic covers over the alarms to deter prospective false pullers, but those have been ineffective. The six alarms pulled this semester were all covered alarms. The other two alarms were the result of smoke detectors.\nResidents have their own theories why there have been so many false alarms.\n"All the alarms are pretty well located that you can pull them and get back to your room or house and get away with it," freshman Joe Sunderhaus said.\nTwo students are currently going through the University judicial system over false alarm pulls at Read, but so far there have been no leads about Wednesday night's false alarm, Montelongo said. Their names were withheld for privacy issues.\nConsequences for pulling a false fire alarm can range from a reprimand to expulsion from the University depending on the situation, said Residential Programs and Services Director Bob Weith.\n"Each case is judged on its own merits, but we consider falsely evacuating an entire building a major offense," Weith said.\nHowever, the IUPD currently has no leads in the most recent false alarm. \n"There's currently no active investigation because we have no leads to follow up on," IUPD Lt. Jerry Minger said. "Unfortunately, in cases where a pull station is pulled, people don't do it when witnesses are around. The only thing we can do is rely on the people who live and work over there who may have seen anything."\nMontelongo also appealed for anyone with information to come forward.\n"This is a major safety concern," she said. "We really would would like to find more people responsible for this inconvenience. We're pulling the IUPD and fire department away from real emergencies."\n-- Contact staff writer Chris Freiberg at wfreiber@indiana.edu.