Mya Hankes
Introduction to Journalism
Professor Miller
February 11, 2022
Sound the Alarm in Sokokis
This semester alone, there have been four occasions where the Sokokis Residence hall fire alarms have been triggered. Students have been disrupted both while sleeping and studying by these incidents Many have become increasingly frustrated with the situation.
Looking at the UNE Housing Handbook, it states, “Unannounced fire evacuation drills will be held regularly throughout the school year in each resident hall” (Page 9). These alarms, though, are typically during the day and are scheduled to happen.
One example of the alarm going off is February 4th. It was just after 4 AM when Sokokis residents were woken from deep sleep by the shrill of the alarm. Not only was it early morning, it was the beginning of the weekend storm. Students shuffled and slipped across ice paths to get to the safety of their cars. The university also opened the forum for those who needed a warm place to wait.
Resident Haley Kennedy remarks on this saying, “I remember being half conscious, attempting not to slip on the ice outside while also trying to see. Everyone was really out of it just trying to get somewhere warm. It took about twenty minutes for us to be able to go back in the building, and by then I couldn’t fall back asleep.”
To gain some more student perspective on alarms being disruptive, I spoke with a fellow resident of the building.
“It really messes with my sleep schedule when I have to get up in the middle of the night to evacuate the building, especially where I have early classes most mornings,” says Sophomore Sarah Dalton.
Students are asking, why is it that the Sokokis Residence alarms go off so often?
First, we can examine what isn’t allowed inside the dorms based on their possibility of setting off the alarm. Referring back to the handbook, UNE does not allow students items like “space heaters, halogen lamps, non UL rated lamps, any non UL decorations requiring electricity, sun lamps/tanning beds” and most cooking appliances. They allow students to use any cooking appliances down in the kitchen on the first floor of the resident building.
Speaking with Sophomore Luke Gould, who also resides in Sokokis, he added some perspective on why he thinks the alarms may be going on.
“From my experience of living in the dorms both last year and this year, students will do things like pop popcorn for too long, use air fryers, and burn food a lot. I think what’s different in Sokokis is that we’re just excited to have a kitchen in our own room, but don’t know how to cook the best. Another thing I have seen is students keeping paraphernalia in their rooms that can set off the fire alarm.”
Another factor that can be considered is that Sokokis is a newer building. It was built in 2010, significantly younger than some of the other residential buildings on campus. Therefore their fire alarm system is newer, and has the possibility to be more sensitive than older ones.
To find out more about the issues surrounding alarm triggers, I reached out to UNE’s Housing Facilities office for an interview.
Upon trying to reach out to Housing Facilities for comment, they were unable to reply promptly for the timing of this publishing. It is possible that it will be discussed with facilities in the future with an updated publication.
Overall, there are multiple factors in question when it comes to setting off the Sokokis alarms.
Would it help students to go through a fire safety class at the beginning of the year? Although there is an indefinite student life factor, it cannot be disregarded that Sokokis may just have more sensitive alarms than other residence buildings. Unfortunately it cannot be concluded the true cause of the alarms due to insufficient research.
