2008 Woodie Awards
Repairs on Gables fire alarms continue as Fire Prevention Week nears
Helen Hocknell
Issue date: 10/6/06 Section: News
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For residents of Gables A-tower, the monotone female voice over the PA system stating calmly that "there has been a fire emergency reported in the building," has become an all too familiar sound as UNH continues to test the alarms in that building.
"The alarms were working, just not optimally," said Bill Meehan, the operations manager for the on-campus apartments. "It seems that the time between announcements wasn't the same as for the other buildings."
"Over the summer the fire alarm systems at the Gables A, B, and C [towers] were modified to be consistent with the alarms systems in the new Gables towers," explained Durham Fire Marshal Mark Tetreault. "Unfortunately, reprogramming the older technology in the existing buildings proved a little more difficult than anticipated. Additional testing has been necessary to fine-tune the operation."
Students were sometimes told to ignore the alarm while testing was underway, and then later that they should obey it. As inconvenient as it might be, students should take each alarm seriously, unless expressly told otherwise by fire or UNH facilities officials.
"Ignoring an alarm can have dire consequences," warned Tetreault. "Obviously if there is a real fire and you wait until you see smoke of fire, it might be too late to escape." He said students should never assume that an alarm is a drill.
Students who fail to evacuate the building in the event that a fire alarm goes off could face disciplinary action from the UNH Judicial System.
"They could be put on probation and some kind of educational sanction, such as having to talk with fire safety officials, or preparing a bulletin board on fire safety would be likely too," said George O'Connell, program coordinator for the UNH Judicial System.
"We have a number of fire safety charges," he added. "We consider [ignoring an alarm] to be a bit more serious than if they had a hot plate or candle that turned up in a routine safety inspection."
"The alarms were working, just not optimally," said Bill Meehan, the operations manager for the on-campus apartments. "It seems that the time between announcements wasn't the same as for the other buildings."
"Over the summer the fire alarm systems at the Gables A, B, and C [towers] were modified to be consistent with the alarms systems in the new Gables towers," explained Durham Fire Marshal Mark Tetreault. "Unfortunately, reprogramming the older technology in the existing buildings proved a little more difficult than anticipated. Additional testing has been necessary to fine-tune the operation."
Students were sometimes told to ignore the alarm while testing was underway, and then later that they should obey it. As inconvenient as it might be, students should take each alarm seriously, unless expressly told otherwise by fire or UNH facilities officials.
"Ignoring an alarm can have dire consequences," warned Tetreault. "Obviously if there is a real fire and you wait until you see smoke of fire, it might be too late to escape." He said students should never assume that an alarm is a drill.
Students who fail to evacuate the building in the event that a fire alarm goes off could face disciplinary action from the UNH Judicial System.
"They could be put on probation and some kind of educational sanction, such as having to talk with fire safety officials, or preparing a bulletin board on fire safety would be likely too," said George O'Connell, program coordinator for the UNH Judicial System.
"We have a number of fire safety charges," he added. "We consider [ignoring an alarm] to be a bit more serious than if they had a hot plate or candle that turned up in a routine safety inspection."
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