Fire alarms are designed to signal urgency to leave the building in the event of danger, but on college campuses, they have become the exact opposite. Students that reside in dorms on campus often have false fire alarms, resulting in fire alarm fatigue.
Alarm fatigue is a psychological response where individuals are continuously exposed to alarms, leading to a diminished response of alertness. Students who are exposed to constant fire alarms feel the effect of this fatigue, with alerts going off at any time of day.
“It would always be from midnight to four,” said Suzanna Wilkinson, a junior majoring in political science. “Maybe once in the afternoon, but for the most part, it is in the middle of the night.”
The unpredictable alarms force students to stop their current activities and swiftly pivot to evacuating the building, even if they are in a vulnerable moment. Wilkinson said her roommate was in the shower once during a fire alarm, leaving her with no choice but to evacuate in her robe.
“It’s frustrating when you have an 8 a.m., you’re getting woken up at 3. Some people will have trouble going back to sleep,” said Paris Black, a senior majoring in biology.
Once the fire alarm sounds, students do not know if the alarm is real, allowing some confusion to occur when evacuating the building. There are no announcements or communication until the fire department arrives, which leaves students with another reason not to evacuate.
“If the fire alarm just turns off and on, it’s a noise that just happens at some point,” said Erica Triplett, a senior majoring in anthropology.
If students make their way outside, many are frustrated that they have to wait for help to arrive, sometimes in inclement weather, creating another reason that students neglect to take action.
“Sometimes it was freezing cold and raining,” Wilkinson said. “I would much rather be in bed at that time.”
Whether it is late night burnt popcorn or an actual fire, students continue to react with a “boy who cried wolf” mentality, even in the event of a real emergency.
“A bunch of fire alarms kept going off, and then students think, ‘I know if the past five times have been a false alarm. Why would they not assume that the sixth time is going to be a false alarm?’” Black said. “But of course, when it’s not a false alarm, then people get injured. People get hurt.”
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