A technical malfunction was to blame for at least two of the four false fire alarms at the Unicentre this week, according to a firefighter at the scene of March 13’s alarm.
The fire alarm went off in the Unicentre the night of March 10 and three times on March 13, the third alarm occurring minutes after the building had been reopened.
Pierre Savary, Ottawa Fire Services information officer, said the explanation was plausible.
“We get malfunctions with alarm systems all the time,” he said, “and we do have quite a few at this address.”
Many students remained in the Unicentre while the alarms sounded, believing them to be the work of yet another prankster.
“Apparently someone thinks it’s funny, but we’re in university now, so we should be past that,” said Carleton alumnus Tom Shields, who did decide to leave the building.
“We hear [alarms] so many times, and nothing’s ever happened,” said Ola Obara, a fourth-year psychology student who stayed in the Unicentre.
The department of university safety could not be reached for comment.
Savary said the fire department responded to this week’s Carleton calls as normal, with one aerial ladder truck, two smaller trucks and a district chief on the scene.
He said while no one can force students to leave the building for every fire alarm, he would.
“If it was me, I would evacuate, and I’d be looking to see if there was smoke in the halls,” he said. “But it’s a personal decision.”