Residence Life is holding community meetings for Woodland Hall residents in response to an unusually high number of fire alarms in the building since its opening last August. Residents were required to attend one of two meetings held Thursday and Friday in Dye Lecture Hall, at which staff reviewed fire safety regulations. Residents who were not present at one of the meetings will instead be asked to meet with a Residence Life staff member one-on-one. 

College fourth-year and Woodland Hall resident Jonah Feinstein estimated that fire alarms occur around twice a week. He added that residents were once required to evacuate three separate times within 24 hours. Residents are taking longer to evacuate than at the beginning of the school year, and many are not leaving their suites at all. 

“It’s definitely a boy-who-cried-wolf situation,” Feinstein said. “It’s happened so many times that people are just not really taking it seriously.” 

Senior Associate Dean of Students Thom Julian, who was present at both meetings, mentioned a similar concern. 

“Due to the frequency of the alarms, we have also received additional reports of students not leaving the building during an alarm,” Julian wrote in an email to the Review. “This is one of the major reasons for us calling an all-building meeting — failure to exit the building during a fire alarm sets a dangerous precedent and is against policy.”

Julian said he hoped to make the meetings about more than just safety procedures.

“The meeting will begin with a brief presentation that will cover data on the activations of the Woodland fire alarms, discuss important fire-safety considerations, provide additional information on the features of Woodland, and end with future opportunities to give feedback about Woodland Hall with a question-and-answer segment,” Julian wrote before the meeting. 

Feinstein said there is much speculation on whether the fire alarm is being triggered by unauthorized items like hot plates and e-cigarettes or if the system is unusually sensitive. Chief Facilities Officer Joe Comar confirmed that the alarm system in Woodland Hall is not any different from those in other residential buildings. Additionally, he noted that the inoperable windows, which are part of the building’s sustainable design, are not significantly contributing to the frequent alarms.

“Fire alarm systems are designed to detect smoke at very low thresholds to ensure early warning,” Comar wrote in an email to the Review. “Opening a window does not reliably prevent smoke from reaching detectors. In fact, introducing uncontrolled airflow can sometimes spread smoke more rapidly through corridors or into adjacent spaces, especially in buildings that are pressure-balanced.”

According to safety reports, approximately 50 percent of alarms have been due to “policy violations.” These include smoking or vaping and the use of unauthorized cooking appliances. 30 percent are accidents — like microwaving food for too long — and 20 percent are for unknown reasons or faulty detectors.

Feinstein said he understands why ResLife would call the mandatory meeting if technical issues have already been ruled out as a possible cause of the frequent alarms. Other residents have expressed frustration about the meeting. College third-year June Gormin cannot attend either meeting due to a conflict with her job, and now has to add another obligation to her schedule. The alarm itself has also affected Gormin’s professional life. 

“It’s caused disruptions with work and things like that,” Gormin said. “I’ve been on a call before, and the fire alarm has gone off in the middle. It’s gotten to a point where I will just turn off my camera, and I will go to the bathroom or put on headphones because there is almost never actually a fire.”

Out of the mounting exasperation have come several humorous public references to the alarms. Since Oct. 12, the Instagram account @woodlandfirealarmcausers has been posting the suite number that triggered the alarm and any known causes. Additionally, “Woodland fire alarm” was a running joke in all five performances at OMTA/OSTA’s 24-hour theater festival, Quick!. 

Gormin noted that the fire alarms foster a sense of community to Woodland. 

“We get this big common enemy, which is a little bit nice in a weird way,” she said.