By Stephen Cooney
False fire alarms are more than just an inconvenience for University residents. According to John O’Malley, assistant director of Public Safety, New York State Law requires Public Safety officials to immediately notify local fire departments in the event of a triggered fire alarm.
“False alarms tie up manpower,” O’Malley said. “Not just for Public Safety but for the Uniondale and Hempstead fire departments, because the fire department must respond to every alarm.”
Public Safety does not compile statistics on how many alarms occur on campus, but O’Malley explained that a high number of the incidents are false alarms. Faulty smoke detectors, students burning food, dust from construction, hair spray and heat from curling irons are common causes of false alarms. However, the most frequent cause is triggering fire alarm pull boxes.
There are far too many occurrences of individuals maliciously pulling alarms, O’Malley said. “These are usually triggered by non-residents, in the late evening and early morning hours.”
Pajama-clad students milling around outside their residence hall in the chilly night air often view the alarm that forced them outside as nothing more than an inconvenience, but according to O’Malley the risk of serious danger in not responding to the alarm outweighs the inconvenience. If students do not respond to an alarm, it puts them at serious risk of harm in the event of a real fire. “There is no other option but a mandatory evacuation,” O’Malley said.
Even the safety measures carry a risk of harm. “The evacuation places students at risk of injury while exiting the building,” he said.
Further, the necessity of the fire department and Public Safety responding to alarms diverts manpower from other emergencies-in the event of a false alarm, drawing resources away from people who actually need assistance.
“False alarms drive us nuts,” said Henry Lenahan, a dispatcher for the Hempstead Fire Department. “We respond as if it is a fire, driving in a large vehicle through small streets. It is very dangerous for us and people around.”
Falsely triggering an alarm carries criminal ramifications. “The punishment is your first-born child, or maybe just the soul of your first-born child,” Lenahan joked. “‘Reporting a false incident’ is the technical charge,” Lenahan said. “Generally the Hempstead Fire Department leaves [punishment] up to the school administrators.”
The offense is taken seriously and is punished accordingly, said public safety officials. “Most students do not realize this offense will cause the students to be arrested because it is a criminal act. The dean of students will take action,” O’Malley said. “Students have been removed from residences and possibly school.”
The Hempstead Fire Department vehicles respond to a triggered alarm in the Twin Oaks residential complex. (Stephen Cooney)