Fire Alarms Disrupt Samford Students’ Exam Week

Freshmen girls woke up to the screeching sound of fire alarms the morning of exams.

Freshmen students at Samford University soaked in the last few hours of sleep before the start of exam week when their slumber was suddenly interrupted by the screeching sound of fire alarms ringing through the halls of John D. Pittman Hall.

At approximately 6:00am on Monday, May 7, 2018, the fire alarms went off in a freshman girls residence hall at Samford. No one knows exactly what triggered the alarms.

“We aren’t sure what caused the fire alarm to go off, but it was not caused by any smoke or real fire” said Central Campus Resident Manager Kierstin Cusumano.

Regardless of what caused the alarms to activate, the girls of Pittman Hall were upset about losing sleep the morning before finals.

“The residents were confused and unhappy, especially because final exams start today.” said sophomore Resident Assistant Hannah Saunders. “I hope that the alarm doesn’t take away any focus or energy from the girls today, but it very well may.”

Back in February 2018, the other freshman girls residence hall, Lena Vail Davis Hall, had problems with its fire alarm system. The alarm rang four times in one day without any real fire threats. Could this incident in Pittman Hall be related to a bigger problem with the inaccuracy of fire alarm systems in the residence halls at Samford?

“I don’t believe this fire alarm had anything to do with the prevalence of alarms in February” said Cusumano.

Although this incident in Pittman Hall may not be directly related to the errors in the fire alarm system in February, Residence Life staff puts the safety of Samford residents first and wants to get to the bottom of the issue.

“We take the safety of students very seriously” writes Assistant Vice President for Campus and Residential Life Lauren Taylor in her email to Vail Hall residents. “We recognize the fire alarm issues have been an inconvenience, and we are sorry for the inconvenience caused.”