An unexpected fire alarm went of near the end of fifth period this morning, which lasted just ten seconds. This left students and staff confused whether or not to evacuate the building. Dean Edsy clarified the situation a few minutes later, attributing the alarm to a malfunction, and asked students to remain in class for the duration of the period.

“I’ve been here twelve years and have never seen this happen before,” Edsy said.

Frank Wright, maintenance supervisor, explained that the alarm was not a result of a malfunction, but rather an error when prepping the sprinkler systems for a routine check scheduled to be conducted by the fire marshal tomorrow, Sept. 30.

The Buildings and Grounds department (B&G) had to run water through the pipes leading to the sprinklers in preparation for the check. Because the alarms automatically go off when water runs through these pipes, B&G had to “zone-off” each sprinkler system so that they would not go off when the water was sent through.

However, the sprinklers near the broadcasting room were never zoned off, thus activating the fire alarms.