If an actual fire were consuming the building, residents might have been trapped inside, threatened by the burning flames, and hoping that their valuable personal belongings had damage insurance. But luckily, apartment units at 16 Arundel St. did not burst into flames on Oct. 25, and residents instead had to cope with a reported 30 minute-long false alarm before one resident decided to call the police and have the situation checked out.

Police officers later determined that the building’s fire alarm system was not hooked up to any emergency dispatch unit, and that even if there had been a real fire, a resident would have had to report it in order for the fire department to show up.

Boston University is responsible for ensuring that a student’s living situation is comfortable and safe, but in this case BU failed to properly maintain the most basic of fire safety measures. And if this building’s fire alarm system is not wired to emergency services, it is likely that some other BU-owned residences are also not properly wired.

The cost of such a significant improvement to safety is likely small compared with the measure of prevention it would provide, and the Office of Housing, in cooperation with Buildings and Grounds, should re-inspect all buildings for fire safety if they have not done so already.

No resident should have to wait 30 or 40 minutes for an emergency response when the police already have a large numbers of patrols on the BU campus, let alone report a fire by calling in an alarm.