Students at the Oak-Elm residence halls learned the benefits of the heat and smoke detectors installed in the majority of the residence halls across campus Monday.

A group of girls showering in Oak King with the windows closed set off the heat detector installed in their bathroom three separate times in approximately 40 minutes.

By the third time it was apparent there wasn’t actually a fire in the residence hall, but residents were thoroughly annoyed.

“We were doing homework in our rooms and it was just super inconvenient,” said Emily Eitman, sophomore in agricultural business. “We couldn’t get anything done.”

The Department of Residence updated its heat and smoke detectors in Wallace, Wilson, Oak-Elm, Helser, and Willow-Larch Halls and is scheduled to be completely updated in Friley Hall in summer 2011.

Even with updated systems in most of the dorms, there are still things other than an actual fire that set off the alarm systems. The most common reasons are burnt food and construction activity, mainly dust, said Dave Bunker, program coordinator for the Department of Residence.

Regardless of the source of the alarm, whenever one goes off the Ames Fire Department responds, usually within 10 minutes.

“We treat everything as if it’s an actual fire,” said Lt. John Sebastian of the Ames Fire Department.

There are various causes for the alarms being set off that don’t include an actual fire, and each year students are inevitably one of them.

Pulling fire alarms in a non-emergency situation is an issue addressed in the Department of Residence’s policy handbook, which states that if students are caught pulling a fire alarm it can lead to termination of their contract, possible arrest and will have a record for a university conduct violation. Fines will also ensue.

“Students should not refrain if there is an actual fire or smoke showing,” Bunker said. “Beyond that, students can become desensitized and complacent if they continually hear the fire alarm activated in their building.”

Despite the inconvenience commonly associated with fire alarms, as often as they prove to be non-threatening, it’s important students mind their intent. All of the residence halls will soon be equipped with the updated alarms, which should prevent an actual fire from ever proving fatal.

Sidebar – what to do when you’re involved in a fire alarm

1. Leave the building immediately, locking their room door. Use the stairs and not the elevator.

2. Keep low if there is smoke.

3. Assemble in the area designated for your house a safe distance from the building.

4. If able, provide fire and rescue personnel information about the location of the fire.

5. Do not re-enter the building until the fire dept has declared the building safe.