String of false fire alarms strike the Graduate College

The University has responded to almost 40 false fire alarms sounded from pull stations in the Graduate College since the middle of February, according to Crime Prevention Specialist Barry Weiser.

The large number of false alarms has prompted Public Safety to place officers at the Graduate College to watch some of the more frequently used fire alarm pull stations, Weiser said.

"We had officers over there [Saturday] night," Public Safety Lt. Lloyd Best said yesterday. "But they didn't catch anyone."

Weiser noted that the frequent alarms pose a potential safety concern. "With this many fire alarms being pulled, we could get a boy-who-cried-wolf syndrome," he said. "It's very dangerous."

Because the Graduate College is on University property, Public Safety responds to all alarms but is not required to call the Princeton Borough Fire Department, according to Best. "When we get a fire alarm we respond to it," he said. "We don't call the fire department unless we need to."

The false alarms at the Graduate College only exacerbate the problem of false alarms at the eating clubs, according to Princeton Fire Chief Henry Tomasi. "The repetition of these alarms plays on the guys," he said. "They don't want to have to get up at two or three in the morning when they have families. That hurts their pride and morale."

In response to the increasing number of false alarms at the eating clubs, the fire department has changed its protocol to include a new "duty night" position. "The fire department consists of 13 officers and each officer is assigned a duty night," Tomasi said. "They take every call and take the duty car to respond."

"One day it's not going to be a false alarm and there will be a fire we have to get to quickly — this is our greatest concern," he added.