The current residents and staff of Sproul Hall have had a number of evacuations this year due to unintentionally activated fire alarms.
The false alarms have been set off by several causes, and some students have said the alarms go off regularly, sometimes in the middle of the night and early in the morning.
UCLA Assistant Fire Marshall M. Steve Jurado said among the reasons behind the false alarms are machinery malfunctions, overheating in the heat ventilation and air conditioning system, and at least one intentional pull of the alarm.
Some of the other causes remain unknown, although sometimes bugs, dust, deodorant or perfume may reach and disrupt the system, setting it off, he added.
Alfred Nam, director of rooms operation for resident halls, said the alarms went off multiple times last December after a bathroom detector in Sproul Hall 2 North sensed steam.
More recently ““ just last Tuesday and Wednesday night ““ Sproul residents found themselves forced to evacuate the building.
The alarms went off both nights after an employee opened a pot-washing machine that released steam, setting off the alarm.
Since its reopening last year, the alarms have been set off 15 times, only three of which were drills, Nam said.
He added that maintenance has looked into the cause of the false alarm.
Every room or occupied unit, as well as the hallways, contain a white, dome-shaped detector that flashes an occasional indicator light and is about the size of a hockey puck, Jurado said.
Within the detector is a beam that will set off the alarm system if anything, ranging from smoke to particulate matter, should disrupt its flow.
When the detector senses this disruption, strobe lights and alarms are made to grab the attention of everyone in the building, Jurado said. They ensure that both the visually and hearing-impaired are alerted of the fire danger.
Sproul Hall, like all residence halls, is required to do quarterly drills, allowing student and staff to exercise the proper evacuation procedures, Jurado said.
Nam said that some Sproul Hall residents and staff have become frustrated with how often the alarms go off, adding that the reasons they go off are varied.
“After so many fire alarms, there’s a point that you reach where these fire alarms start being more of a danger than a safety precaution for students,” said resident Chi Nguyen, a second-year international developmental studies student. “After the fourth or fifth fire alarm that we had in Sproul Hall during fall quarter of 2008, students’ exits from the building were noticeably slower and less efficient.”
Nguyen created a Facebook group called “Victims of Sproul Hall Fire Alarms,” where members can write on the group’s wall and express their thoughts regarding the frequency of false alarms. The group professes to “unite together against broken steam pipes, inconsiderate & unfunny pranksters, and a faulty fire alarm system!”
Anna-Marie Hosking, a first-year microbiology, immunology, and molecular genetics student, who had to evacuate in the middle of a shower earlier this quarter, called the false alarms “a huge frustration.”
“It’s one thing that I won’t miss about Sproul,” she added.
Jurado, however, said he emphasizes the need to treat every alarm as though an actual fire danger is present, despite how often they are activated unintentionally.
He advised residents not to delay evacuating, because then the fire department may have to divert resources from fighting the fire to rescue people.
“We know it’s human nature for people to wait and see,” he said. “But we try to impress upon people to leave while the fire is still in its incipient stages.”
Jurado said it is also worth noting that tampering with the alarms or maliciously pulling them is against the California penal code. Perpetrators should be reported and their case will be pursued legally and administratively.