Students were forced to evacuate Haskell Hall six times last week due to a malfunctioning fire alarm. The alarm sounded three times between 6 and 8:30 a.m. on Sunday, at approximately 3:30 a.m Tuesday morning and twice more just after 6 p.m. on Tuesday evening.
According to Medford Fire Marshall and University Life Safety Specialist Perry Cayton, several sprinkler heads froze and burst on Sunday morning, flooding the side of the dormitory that faces uphill.
"It was like a river in the stairwell," said freshman Christopher LaCross.
The sprinklers had been frozen by cold air that seeped into the dormitory through a broken skylight. The alarm was set off by water that subsequently infiltrated a fire detection system.
The system was reset after the first alarm was deactivated. The fire detector that had triggered the alarm was disabled at no danger to residents, according to Cayton. Subsequent alarms, Cayton said, were set off by water flows that remained and continued to permeate detection systems.
"The flowing water compromised the electric ground faults," Cayton said.
The loud, harsh-sounding alarm startled many of the residents of Haskell, who feared an actual fire.
"My roommate threw her covers off and yelled, 'We have to get out!,'" said freshman Sara Jackson.
After the 3:30 a.m. alarm on Tuesday morning, Haskell residents who evacuated the dorm walked into the main lobby of neighboring Tilton Hall to escape the cold.
The majority of students were angry and frustrated at having to wake up repeatedly in the middle of the night.
Some Haskell residents complained that these alarms hindered their ability to sleep the following nights.
"What I was most upset about is that it happened during a time when we had to prepare for classes," said sophomore Seth Davenport.
An e-mail from Haskell resident director senior Lacey Prouty reported that repairs on the system were taking place through 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 1, several hours after the final alarm sounded.
According to Cayton, this problem will have to be looked into further.
"Facilities is going to have to look at, and possibly repair the roof when it gets warmer," he said. "They may just have to seal up the skylight."
Cayton added that the entire University alarm system is being considered for a redesign.
"If the sprinkler heads were lowered, they wouldn't be close enough to the cold outside to freeze," he said.
This is not the first time that frozen sprinkler heads have burst and flooded a dormitory. Last winter a broken sprinkler head flooded a hallway in Miller Hall. According to Cayton, sometimes in extreme cold there is little that can be done to prevent it.
"One time, someone just left a window open, and that allowed the cold to freeze the sprinklers," he said.
"The worst thing is that we don't know if and when there will be another alarm," said freshman Alejandro Pinero.
If there is another alarm, some residents of Haskell may not be so quick to leave their rooms.
"Now I'm worried that if there really is a fire, I'll think it's fake and want to sleep through it," said freshman Jahn Sood.
