The Office of the Dean of Students is offering a $1,000 reward for information on the individual or individuals who pulled the Warren Towers Shields, or “B,” Tower fire alarms twice in as many weeks.
The two alarms came in the early mornings of Thursday, Feb. 12 and Sunday, Feb. 22, according to Director of Residence Life David Zamojski. The alarm went off twice on Feb. 12, the first at 2 a.m., which Zamojski said was a malfunction. But the other two alarms were triggered purposefully, and investigators found strings leading from the alarms’ pull-stations to doorknobs, he said, most likely to keep fingerprints off the alarm and the “invisible paint,” which is talked about during orientation, off the culprits hands.
Zamojski said it is everyone’s responsibility to help hold those who pulled the alarms accountable.
“It’s up to each member of the community to confront behavior like this,” Zamojski said. “Everyone should share responsibility in taking care of the community.”
The penalty for prank alarms can range from fines to expulsion from the university, according to the BU Lifebook.
“Any student who, without reasonable cause, activates a fire alarm system or tampers with fire safety equipment should expect to be expelled from the residential system and to be referred to the Office of Judicial Affairs for further action,” the Lifebook states. “These cases may also be referred for criminal prosecution.”
When Feb. 12’s second alarm sounded just two hours after the first, numerous students said they knew it was a prank and most refused to evacuate.
“People don’t take [fire alarms] seriously anymore,” said College of General Studies freshman Kevin Bhatia, a B Tower resident.
According to the BU Lifebook, failing to evacuate during a fire alarm could result in “serious disciplinary action.” Each case of refusing to evacuate will be examined individually, Zamojski said, though he added that he did not think any students have been caught thus far.
Failing to leave during a false alarm can also be dangerous because alarms could turn out to be real, Zamojski said, and prank alarms tie up resources for other real emergencies. The safety hazards are one reason the “malicious activation of a fire alarm” is taken so seriously, he said.
But several Warren residents criticized the university’s offer of a $1,000 reward.
“It’s encouraging students to turn against one another,” said College of Arts and Sciences freshman Rachel Gross. “It’s really disruptive because students are sleeping and studying – people are stupid.”
The reward money may not be enough to encourage students to share information, School of Management freshman Heather Marshall said.
“If it was someone I knew, I probably wouldn’t tell,” she said.
Despite the criticism, frustrated students said administrators need to take action against those responsible.
“I think something should be done because it’s very disruptive,” said SMG freshman Laura Valdez, who added that she had class early the next morning and couldn’t get back to sleep after being evacuated at 4 a.m.
As a resident of the 14th floor in B Tower, one of the floors on which a fire alarm was pulled, Valdez said she does not think any floor residents are guilty.
“I don’t think they’d be stupid enough to pull it on their own floor,” she said.
Many residents said they have had floor meetings specifically addressing the issue.
“I don’t understand what satisfaction people are getting out of it,” Lamba said.
According to Zamojski, the pranks are extremely unusual, not only for the university, but for neighboring schools as well. The BU Police Department is currently investigating the incidents, but no officers could be reached for comment.
This is an account occasionally used by the Daily Free Press editors to post archived posts from previous iterations of the site or otherwise for special circumstance publications. See authorship info on the byline at the top of the page.
