Carlton Arms Dormitory has been seeing a recent spike in false-alarm activation of the Fire Safety System due to what a Columbia Housing representative called a “better-safe-than-sorry” approach to triggering the alarm.
Some recent events that have triggered the alarm include a dryer doing a heavy-duty load successfully, someone turning on the stove “without giving it a verbal warning and rub-down in advance,” someone charging their phone and laptop at the same time, and two passionate young ladies creating too much friction in a dry room.
The first fire alarm caused a commotion in the building. People were screaming, calling their moms crying, running down the stairs in a towel with shampoo still in their hair, and frantically repeating the Lord’s Prayer in a large circle outside the building. Everyone was relieved to find out it was a false alarm, and they went on with their lives.
The next two times the alarm went off that week, attendance outside was similar if not a bit smaller, but the palpable panic had decreased. By the third alarm that week, blonde Carlton residents in the shower chose to finish rinsing the purple shampoo from their hair before coming downstairs.
By the fourth, however, almost all residents chose to stay in their rooms. Approximately six residents came out: four CS majors who had come to enjoy the daily social interaction and were disappointed that their new cool fire drill buddies weren’t there, and two RAs who were afraid of being fired.
In an interview with The Fed, one Carlton resident ventured that she would “rather be burned alive than go outside one more fucking time. Nobody has time for that.”
The Morningside Heights Fire Department has been similarly frustrated with the system. One firefighter said that he has “stopped checking the higher floors” because he’s “sick of walking up all those stairs.”
The most recent alarm turned out to be a real fire, caused by one rule-breaking candle-haver. No one was injured, and thankfully, everyone who chose to stay inside was fine. When asked for comment about the fire, FDNY reported that the “fire” was mostly confined to the candle wick and that “it didn’t fucking spread.”
