Sean Selback

News Editor

The fire alarm at ESU’s Hemlock Suites went off, triggering the sprinkler system on Thursday night, Feb. 1, at 11:30 p.m.

Students were forced to evacuate the building while the cause of the alarm was investigated.

“It started around 11:30 p.m. and the residents were only able to get back into the building around 2:00 a.m.,” said Tara Tanczos, the residential assistant on shift at the time. “Currently the story is unclear. The residents ‘claim’ that there was no smoke or steam in the room at the time the sprinklers went off. However, false alarms are, to my knowledge, exceedingly rare.”

As Tanzcos explained, the cause of the alarm is currently unknown, but many students were upset with the entire situation. Complaints were shared among classmates and on social media. Not only were students forced to stand out in the cold for a couple hours, but many students rooms were completely soaked from the sprinklers. Tanczos confirmed that there were some damages.

“Yes. Their room (residents who’s room triggered the alarm), the rooms around them and the rooms below them to the first floor all got wet.”

Despite the complaints and the obvious inconvience of the situation, Tanzcos said the students were, for the most part, good sports about everything.