Fire alarms waste time, energy

BY BRYN FAWN Opinions Editor & PR Chair

After a long day of lectures and classes, a rest is needed. A plush pillow and lush blanket to tuck in a tired college student. Sheep dance in their head as they drift to sleep. That is, until they’re abruptly brought back to reality with a blaring alarm and flashing lights.

This experience is commonplace for many SUNY Plattsburgh students. Dorm buildings often have their fire alarms set off, especially at night, several times a week. Some dorms even have alarms go off multiple times a day.

Two common reasons are burnt food or cannabis. Students often forget to put water in their microwave macaroni and cheese cup, which sets the macaroni on fire.

Students also attempt to smoke indoors and fail at “fooling” the alarm system, which then forces the entire building outside waiting.

Often the reason can be smelt, and most students are annoyed when someone cannot cook a meal or must smoke indoors.

The frequency that these alarms go off at is alarming. It is now commonplace for multiple buildings to have an alarm blare at the same time, causing the fire department to be spread thin.

Students can often be left waiting outside for ten minutes or longer before firefighters have resolved the issue, and while spring has come the weather is still cold. Especially at night.

The alarms have become so common that students no longer see them as a possible threat to their safety and now see it as more of a chore. Some students opt to remain indoors and wait for the alarm to pass, as there is no repercussions for those who remain inside. In a real fire, these students would be endangering their lives because they feel as if it isn’t “worth” exiting the building. These alarms are not just annoying, they can be painful. Students with sensitivities to sounds and lights are thrown into an incredibly uncomfortable situation with these