By Danny NikanderSTAFF WRITER

Students have been questioning the many alarm activations that have been occurring in residence halls.
According to William Sollin, the fire and life safety officer at the Physical Plant Department, there were 35 activations in September. Their cause was mainly due to burnt food, hair care products and e-cigarettes.
“I think the number of fire alarms has been ridiculous,” says Nassau resident Sarah Hysong. “They tell us that it’s a combination of a sensitive system and irresponsible people, but it doesn’t make sense that our building has more irresponsible people than any other dorm here.”
Hysong additionally claimed she was never informed of exactly what caused the activations to go off, adding to her frustration.
“Standing outside at 4 a.m. is horrible,” she continued. “It was freezing, I was half asleep and it took the fire department forever to get here.”
When an alarm is activated, it alerts Public Safety who then dispatches a crew to go and investigate the matter. They are able to tell where the alarm was set off through IP addresses connected to panels and zones that are located in residential buildings. Plant personnel and the fire department are additionally notified.
This number surpasses those of previous years. In 2014, 19 activations went off in September due to mainly “smoking-vandalism.” In 2013, burnt food and hair care products caused 30 unwarranted alarms.
“To prevent alarms follow the restrictions in the housing agreement,” says Sollin. “Pay attention while cooking and microwaving as not to burn your food. Use hair care products, sprays and the related appliances away for your smoke detectors. Use your bathroom for these processes.”
Sollin additionally added that these rules are mandated to protect the students. Dorms must follow the same guidelines as hotel buildings, both housing large amounts of people.
“These devices are in your life now. At home if you burn toast, your detector goes off. The same happens with these alarms,” said Sollin.
Like Hysong, Sollin feels students are not informed enough by RAs and RDs on how to avoid setting off alarms.
“It’s unfortunate. It’s almost like a cyclical problem,” added Sollin. “But we’re going to have to do a better job with RAs and RDs on informing students.”
“Having been in the building for around 10 of the 15 fire alarms, they became old news fast,” said sophomore journalism major, Clare Ramirez-Raftree, who also lives in Nassau Hall.
“The disruption to our schedules and being woken up to stand outside at 4:30 in the morning for 40 minutes is not my idea of fun,” she said.
Avoiding alarms all comes down to being cautious in dorm rooms. Sollin suggests letting bathrooms ventilate when taking hot showers so steam does not build up. Also when making food in microwaves and using hairspray, make sure it is being done in a safe distance from the detectors.