False alarm disturbs Graham residents

Fire alarm discharge led to the dispatch of 18 fire personnel and three engines.

By Kathleen Pointer

Published Aug. 21, 2007

While some students stood in their bath towels or pajamas, a fire crew exited Graham Hall after their 11:58 p.m. dispatch turned out to be the byproduct of a prank.

"I woke up to the loud noise of the fire alarm," said freshman Jessie Roland, who stood outside during the alarm. "I thought it was a joke because we heard that [false fire alarms] happen a lot. But then I heard girls talking about all the smoke."

According to Columbia Fire Lt. Will Stafford, on Aug. 15 a student on the second floor released the fire extinguisher as a prank.

A student reported the smoke on the second floor to a staff member, who then set off the fire alarm believing there was an actual fire.

"When a fire extinguisher is released, the dust particles resemble smoke and so that's what the witness saw," said Lt. Debbie Sorrell of the Columbia Fire Department.

According to Sorrell, the fire department dispatched 18 fire personnel in three engines. The last engine remained on sight until 12:28 a.m.

This isn't the first time a fire truck has been put out of commission to answer a false alarm. According to Stafford, it has been an on-going problem for years. He expects to answer calls like this anywhere from one to six times a night in almost every residence hall, sorority house and fraternity house.

"We don't know what's real and what's not, " said Stafford. "It's like crying wolf."

Sorrell also stressed the common nature of these alarms and their dangerous consequences.

"The malicious (pranks) wear you out emotionally," said Sorrell. "The complacency often kills if the same people have to go through false alarm after false alarm. By the fifteenth time they stop getting up."

Before the students were allowed to return to their rooms, they were encouraged by a police officer who had responded to the alarm to take things more seriously and to recognize the burden that these situations put on the fire department. The officer also encouraged the responsible party to confess to the incident. Then, according to Roland, while the girls were allowed to return to their rooms, the boys were fingerprinted because it had been determined that the incident had occurred in the boys' hall.

Although the names of the responsible students were not released at a Graham Residence Hall community meeting on Aug. 19, the students were told it was being "taken care of."

"Everyone wants to know who it was," Roland said. "And we don't want it to happen again. People were in the showers, people were asleep. It was bad."

According to Director of Residential Life Frankie Minor, the situation is still under investigation. If the student is discovered, the school will hold to the student code of conduct, which would remove the responsible party from the residence hall with possible suspension from classes. The school does not handle the criminal aspect of an event like this, which is why, according to Minor, the fire department and police department become involved.

"Life safety systems are there for a reason," said Sorrell. "I would arrest them. They were playing with something that can save someone's life."