Cumberland Hall residents experienced multiple false fire alarms so far this semester, many early in the morning. Several have said they were frustrated Resident Life officials did not explain why the “unwanted activations” and alarms “of unknown causes” occurred.
At 4:33 a.m. on Sept. 23, residents of Cumberland Hall trudged outside for the second time in less than two hours.
Some were dressed in going-out clothes and others in pajamas and sweatshirts, but seemingly all were annoyed by the fire alarms going off for the sixth time since the beginning of this semester, many said.
In an email to Cumberland residents that evening, Resident Life Associate Director Amy Martin reported only one of those six alarms was an “actual alarm, properly activated,” listing the others as “unwanted activations” or “of unknown causes.” However, several residents said they were more frustrated by this email than the alarms themselves, complaining that Department of Resident Life never explained why exactly the alarms were going off.
“Definitely the fire alarms going off that late sucks, but [the university] should be telling us what’s going on when there is no actual fire,” said Ben Silber, a sophomore enrolled in letters and sciences. “In order to be more prepared, they should tell us what is going on. By not telling us what is going on, we can’t be prepared.”
The incidents on Aug. 28 at 11:07 a.m. and Sept. 16 at 2:03 a.m. were both caused by someone pulling the manual alarms on different floors, according to Life Safety Systems Assistant Director Jim Robinson. On Sept. 20, the smoke detector in the southern elevator pit activated the alarm. The three alarms on the morning of Sept. 23 came from the northern elevator pit smoke detector at 3:08 a.m., a manual station pulled at 3:27 a.m., and the same smoke detector reactivating at 4:33 a.m., Robinson said.
Facilities Management staff investigated the elevator pit smoke detectors, which were part of a newer fire alarm system installed in 2007. Each system is checked twice a year in every dorm and there were no problems with the smoke detectors during summer testing, according to Robinson.
“These smoke detectors were dirty and needed to be replaced, and we did Monday morning,” he said, adding that alarm systems across the campus are currently up to date.
Several residents said some students had stopped evacuating the building because they are no longer taking the alarms seriously.
“It’s having an adverse effect,” sophomore criminology and criminal justice and psychology major Marissa Gates said. “It’s deterring students from leaving the building.”
Martin’s email reiterated to residents that refusing to evacuate is a safety risk and also violates campus and Resident Life policies.
“My main concern is that my residents continue to respect and oblige the alarms,” Cumberland Resident Assistant Reed Bjorntvedt wrote in an email.
Cambridge Community Director Hannah Wu said she was unaware residents were frustrated over the email regarding the alarms, noting the department did not send out any follow-up emails because residents constantly complain they receive too many. She said her department staff would gladly answer any questions residents may have about the incidents.
“If residents have any issues I can help them with, they can email me anytime,” Wu said. “If [residents] want an email to talk about the fire alarms, we can do so.”
Gates said she hopes residents will be better informed if another incident occurs.
“I wish [Resident Life] would communicate better,” she said.
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