Fire Alarm in Zimmerman

Fire Alarm in Zimmerman

By Kenneth Young (Whetstone Staff Writer)

Residents of Zimmerman hall were thrown off guard by the sound of a fire alarm that rang through the building Sept. 5.

It was a prank.

Residents rushed outside, expecting it just to be a random fire drill. That expectation changed when a Dover Fire Department truck arrived, prepared to put out a fire.

Once the Fire Department left shortly after arriving, the residents were left feeling confused.

After students returned to their rooms, the fire alarm went off again. Residents ran outside a second time. Zimmerman hall’s RAs told everyone return to their rooms and ignore the alarm still blaring in the hallways. This incident occurred three more times within 15 minutes, leaving residents annoyed and confused.

“I was downloading music when I heard the alarm go off,” said sophomore Jake Bradner. “I thought it was just another drill, nothing major. Seeing the fire department did not worry me because there was no smoke coming from the building, but I was confused as to why they were there.”

Some residents said they thought the fire alarm system had become faulty. However, Walt Beaupre, head of Wesley College Security, said, “Someone unknown maliciously activated the alarm by pulling the pull station. The fire department showed up as a matter of procedure.”

Several residents of Zimmerman hall were not surprised by the actions of the unknown person.

“When something like that happens, it is extremely annoying,” said junior Patrick Wittle. “The student pulling the alarm was wasting the time of other students who may have been trying to do something productive with their free time. Any prank that involves something used for emergencies is always too far.”

Junior Leah Eubanks-Mattress said the prank makes students look childish.

“I feel as though people should grow up and stop with the pranks,” she said. “We are adults here and should start acting like it.”

Bradner said there are more serious problems around campus.

“But I don’t think that pulling the alarm for a prank is a good idea at all,” he said. “It was a bad idea to pull the alarm. If you want to risk getting kicked out of campus, it’s on you.”