We've all been there: You're asleep in the dorm and the fire alarm goes off – a piercing noise you can't ignore. If you've ever grumbled, half-awake and wondering what happened and who pulls these things anyway, here's the answer.
Blame it on the popcorn.
Cooking is the cause of 28 percent of the fire calls, according to fire alarm reports, obtained through public record requests.,Popcorn, cookies, even Spam and laundry were the culprit in most cases in all 186 residence halls over the past three years. Students, even residence hall directors, have triggered fire alarms through cooking and doing laundry.
Construction work and malfunctions in the system are also frequent causes of fire alarms, which occur on campus an average of nearly twice per week during the school year. Each fire alarm could cost more than $1,500 for the Muncie Fire Department, Cpt. Brian Manship from fire station No. 2 said.
What about pranksters pulling alarms? Figures show this almost never happens. Deliberately pulled false alarm occurs only about once a year, according to the University Police Department's Fire Alarm Report.
The reports don't show whether anyone was arrested in any of the recent cases. The latest incident occurred when residents of Studebaker East Complex were rousted from their beds at 2 a.m. by a false alarm. The report was submitted May 6, 2010.
The penalty for such a prank can mean expulsion from the university.
According to the Ball State Housing and Residence Life policy, a student who causes a false alarm must appear before the University Review Board and may be be subject to suspension or expulsion from the university. The student will also be subject to termination of the housing contract. In the state of Indiana, "false alarm reporting" is a class D felony.
Reports show most alarms are caused by simple carelessness.
Going outside during a fire alarm isn't fun, especially when students have to do it several times.Brian Ruesch, a sophomore criminal justice major, said two fire alarms went off while he was living in DeHority Complex last year.
"I was taking a nap one time, so I was really upset about it," he said. "You know it's not actually a fire, so you don't want to go out."
Jorden Traver, a sophomore nursing major now living in Park Hall, said she was having dinner with some friends when a fire alarm went off. She and everyone in the dining area were sent out without taking their food.
"It was extremely unorganized," she said. "By the time we got back our food was cold."
Sophomore information systems major Jacob Foster said his bad experiences with false alarms have made him consider not following instructions.
"One time we had to go out in the middle of the night, it was pouring and it was freezing," he said. "I thought next time I'll just stay in my room."
New fire alarm systems are being installed in some buildings on campus. North Quad, Teachers College and Ball Communications aresome of the buildings receiving newer technology. Some residence halls like Woodworth Complex, Kinghorn Hall, and now Studebaker East, have alarm systems that can talk, but Jim Lowe, director of Engineering, Construction and Operations, said they are not perfect.
"These systems are still touchy, and like any technology, one day they are working and then the other they are not," he said. "But they are sophisticated enough to tell us whether they are not functioning and where the problem is."
Tim Kirby, safety specialist at Ball State, said checks on buildings are made on monthly, semi-annual and annual basis. Fire alarms are checked twice a year, and fire drills are conducted once a semester. Fire marshal inspections are done once a year, where the university goes over state codes.
Even though it's a pain, students need to follow protocol, Kirby said.
"Every time a fire alarm goes off we want students to go out, because we don't know if it's real or not," he said. "In fact, every time a fire alarm goes and it's a false alarm, we're glad, because we know that they're working."
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