Although some students complain about false fire alarms in off-campus apartments, police say the number of false alarms has gone down over the past few years.
"The main reason for the decrease in pranksters is our ability to catch more of the perpetrators due to increased security measures," said Corporal Rick Ososkie of the State College Police Department.
"We now have surveillance cameras in many buildings, and there are generally more concerned neighbors willing to turn in the perpetrators," he said. "Finger printing has also helped us make some arrests in reference to fire alarms."
But some students said prank fire alarms are still a significant problem in their off-campus apartments.
Carrie Olenick (junior-criminal justice) said there are about two prank fire alarms a week in her apartment building.
"One alarm went off during a party, and no one left, putting dozens of peoples lives at risk," Olenick said. "If it had been a real fire, by the time all of us would have realized it, there is no way everyone could have made it outside without trampling each other or getting caught in the fire."
Other students said they observed a similar lack of respect for alarms. Aashiq Asanar (sophomore-information science and technology) said the fire alarm goes off in his building with such frequency nobody reacts anymore.
"It has gone off six times already this semester — at least once every weekend night. I leave when the alarm goes off to see if it's a real problem, but the majority of the people don't leave and the parties don't clear out," Asanar said.
There are a significant number of false fire alarms in State College, said Walter Wise, fire administrator at the Alpha Fire Company, 105 S. Atherton St.
"We receive at least three or four a week, and the police handle most of the prank calls. These pranks take fire-fighting apparatus away from true emergencies because every call we get we must send out apparatus," Wise said.
Even if students believe the alarm is false, Wise said ignoring the signal is dangerous.
"Students ignoring fire alarms is a disaster waiting to happen," he said.
Olenick said despite a decrease in the number of pranks pulled, improvements could still be made in the fire alarms.
"If ink sprayed out of the fire alarm when it was pulled, like in high school, it would be easier to catch the prankster. He or she would be a marked man and other students could have him arrested," she said.
Katie Morris (sophomore-anthropology), who often stays with friends off campus, would also like to see improvements.
"Increased security on the fire alarms would be a great relief to my conscience," she said. "I feel like I am living under a false sense of security at my friend's house because I have no idea when my life is really in danger."
