Ohio University now has alarms on its fire alarms.
More than 2,000 Stopper II fire alarm covers are installed in buildings throughout campus, including 39 of the 42 residence halls. The alarm covers, which cost an average of $105 per unit, not including installation, carry the potential to fool students in the case of an actual emergency, according to officials in Environmental Health and Safety.
The covers emit a loud alarm when opened, a measure designed to deter people from pulling the alarms as a prank. Unlike the fire alarms inside them though, the Stopper IIs do not alert local law enforcement and fire departments.
We're hoping to minimize prank fire alarms
said Judy Piercy, director of Residence Life. Piercy said the university has seen a significant reduction in fire alarm pulls since the university began installing the alarm covers in residence halls during the past two years.
Athens Fire Department records show that it has responded to 40 alarms in university dorms between the start of move-in, Sept. 4, and Oct. 14. Three were prank alarms, where a pull station was activated without apparent cause.
Over the same period last year, the department responded to 23 fire alarms, three of which were prank alarms. The increase in alarms has been primarily caused by an increase in cases of burned food, which accounted for 20 cases in that period this year and eight last year.
Firefighters responded to 138 fire alarms in university dorms during the 2007-08 academic year. Of those, 18 were prank alarms, while 39 were caused by burned food such as popcorn.
Piercy said the biggest problem is people putting small bags of popcorn in the microwave and pressing the popcorn button when the setting is designed for large bags.
William Henestofel, fire safety coordinator, cautioned that the Stopper IIs have the potential to cause dangerous misunderstandings.
Several people in the Environmental Health and Safety department have voiced concerns that the warning alarm may fool some into thinking they have activated the fire alarm in an emergency when they have not.
- and that is that it's just a local alarm and you still need to pull the handle
Henestofel said.
The Stopper IIs limited instruction, Lift Cover ' Pull Fire Alarm
is only printed in English, a problem for international students, he said.
Despite their potential for confusion, the alarm covers are worth the expense, Piercy said.
If the alarms are getting pulled a lot
people
after awhile
will become immune to them
Piercy said, There have been incidents across the country where there have been severe injuries when people ignored the alarm in an actual emergency.
The city could not fine the university for false alarms because both are state agencies, but it formed an agreement to limit the number of prank pulls, said Mick Harris, director of maintenance and operations.
They were concerned about the number of fake fire alarm pulls since they have to respond to every one of them as though it was an emergency
Harris said. We agreed to take steps to reduce those pulls.
