False fire alarms are a common annoyance on the ISU campus.

Many people think false alarms are caused by people pulling alarms when there is not a fire. But the majority are caused by system malfunctions, not student pranks.

System malfunctions in fire alarms occur when the detector alerts the fire department for a reason other than a fire. Reasons include construction dust in the alarm, air in the system, a malfunction in the switch, or a person pulling the alarm

Lou Mitchell, associate director of environmental health and safety, said this is a major concern on campus.

Mitchell has been working for 15 years to reduce the number of false alarms on campus. The university’s commitment to reducing false fire alarms is important for several reasons, most importantly student and faculty safety.

ISU officials are trying to prevent fire tragedies that have happened in recent years on college campuses across the country.

On Oct. 28, at Catawba College in Salisbury, N.C., a residence hall fire killed a 20-year-old student. The residents had disconnected the fire alarm in the building after two small fires set off alarms earlier in the morning.

In January 2000, another three people were killed and 58 hospitalized after a fire broke out in a dormitory at Seton Hall University in New Jersey.

But while Mitchell is working to reduce the number of false fire alarms, the actual number has been increasing every year.

According to an annual report complied by former Fire Chief Clint Petersen of the Ames Fire Department, there were 239 false fire alarms in 1995, which increased to 447 in 1999 – an 87 percent increase.

Petersen’s report said system malfunctions are a major cause of false fire alarms.

In 1999 the top types of false fire alarms were 118 system malfunctions alarms, followed by construction dust alarms totaling 33 incidents, and pulled stations totaling 23 incidents. For that year, 26 percent of all fire alarms were caused by smoke detector error, not human error or actual flames.

The latest information compiled by the Department of Residence shows that system malfunctions caused the majority of false alarms, said Dave Bunker, program assistant for the Department of Residence.

“It accounted for approximately 50 percent of the false alarms received,” he said.

The more frequently false fire alarms that occur in a year, the less likely students and faculty members will be to leave the building during an actual fire, Mitchell said.

“People have a certain tolerance level. If people won’t get out of the building when there is a fire, they may end up with a serious injury,” he said. “We look upon this as a very serious event.”

The most problematic location on the report was Friley Hall, with false fire alarms at a total of 26.

When examining individual incidents, the 1999 report showed that in May there were three separate system malfunction alarms at Friley Hall in one day. The first alarm happened at 12:30 p.m., the second at 3:30 p.m. and the last one at 9:30 p.m.

When situations like this continue to happen, the cry-wolf theory comes into play, said Paul Sandoval, deputy chief at the Ames Fire Department.

Cry-wolf theory is when people stop responding to fire alarms because they assume there is no fire.

“They are ignoring something meant to protect their lives,” Sandoval said. “Then their life is put in jeopardy.”

Bunker has the challenge of working with residence assistants and hall directors to ensure that every student leaves the building every time they hear the alarm’s high-pitch sound.

“There are always students who choose to not leave during a fire alarm,” Bunker said. “Each semester the DOR has a fire drill that occurs within the first three weeks of classes. Some hall directors post flyers around their buildings alerting students of this.”

According to the 2001-2002 Terms and Conditions, students and their guests who do not evacuate the building when the fire alarm sounds will be assessed a $50 fee and are subject to judicial action. During a fire alarm drill, staff members randomly check rooms for students not evacuating.

One myth of the residence halls is that if a fire alarm is pulled by a student, the university is charged by Ames Fire Department for its service, which in turn is charged to the student. This is not true, Sandoval said.

“At one time, about 15 years ago, we were discussing it,” he said. “The decision was made not to charge.”

The fire department decided not to charge so that students don’t think twice about pulling an alarm in an emergency situation, Sandoval said.

Instead of charging for false alarms, the department prefers to have an educational approach to dealing with the problem.

“We would rather deal with the management and educate the people living there about false alarms,” he said.

If a student does pull an alarm, Bunker said the Department of Residence usually decides not to charge the student.

“There is not a charge unless they are cited by the police,” he said. “They will face judicial action which may include termination of their housing contract.”

Department of Public Safety officials, Department of Residence employees and Ames Police Department officers could not remember the last time a student was caught and charged with pulling a false fire alarm.

“Rarely, this usually occurs during the early morning hours on the first floor closest to the exits,” Bunker said. “It is typically a `pull and run’ scenario.”

Regardless of a potential fine, Mitchell said people need to respond to fire alarms each time.

“The bottom line is that these systems are in place to prevent their injury in case of a fire and they need to respond regardless,” Mitchell said.