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Ironwood Eagle's Eye

The Dangers of False Fire Alarms

Niccijade Reeves-Alhark

Staff Reporter

Throughout history, fire and smoke alarms have proven to be an effective way of alerting people of danger and of the need to evacuate to a safe area. Fire drills not only test if the fire alarms are working as they should, but they also help students and staff practice for when and if there is a fire on campus. The Hub states, “Everyone in a school needs to take part in regular fire drills, as it helps them to fully grasp the building’s escape routes and the instruction they must follow.”

According to Peoria's emergency flip chart, “Preparation is the key to minimizing the effects of emergencies.” The flipbook also discusses the importance of planned responses over an “undirected reaction.”

False alarms are also considered a safety hazard and regarded as false reporting, which is a class 1 misdemeanor. The Law Offices of Brian D. Sloan states in an article that a Class 1 misdemeanor can fine up to $2,500 along with 6 months in jail. False alarms, as listed by azleg.gov, include untrue bombing threats and falsely pulling an alarm.

In addition to false alarms resulting in a fine and jail time, The Paly Voice claims that they are dangerous and draws away from actual emergencies “When there are almost 2,000 students on the field, with some under the impression that there’s a real emergency, havoc can break loose and people can get injured in their stampede to safety.” Another article by The Paly Voice says, “...pulling the fire alarm results in the fire department directing its attention and resources to the false alarm, therefore putting others in real danger at risk because there is no one to attend to them.”

Falsely pulling the fire alarm or unnecessarily setting off a smoke alarm can cause stress to students and waste time that can be spent being productive. There have been cases in school shootings where the fire alarm was pulled to get people to come out of their classrooms, for example, the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, where 17 people were killed and 15 injured.

With all this considered, please eagles do not purposefully or do something that would cause the fire alarm to go off. The consequences are too severe to play around with.

Image Credit: Electrical Contractor Magazine


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