A series of fire alarms caused students in South Cunningham Hall to exit their building not one, not two, but three times last Thursday, Nov. 17. The first fire alarm occurred around 8 p.m. The second came between 11 and 11:30 p.m. and the third at 12:50 a.m on Nov. 18. Longwood University Police Sgt. Rick Artristain said, "Apparently, we're having a glitch in the system. The glitch involves the alarm not being received by dispatch in a timely manner." Artristain said a university electrician was called in to evaluate and fix the problem. "He supposedly came in, checked it out, cleared it, but apparently he didn't realize the gravity of the situation: that it's an actual alarm system where people have to evacuate the building. So, we've got him coming back in here to try to correct it."
With all the running in and out of the residence hall, students were left standing in the cold for quite some time. Sophomore Madison Turner said, "I've been through two [fire drills tonight] … The last one was an hour and a half ago … I'm not really sure [what's going on]. I think it has to do with probably the electricity because they've been cutting it on and off all day … [I'm] annoyed."
Junior Emily McGrath shared the same concern. "I'm just cold … Right now, it's 12:53. There was another [fire drill] around eight ‘o clock, and another one around 11 … [I know] absolutely nothing." McGrath said no ond had relayed any information to the students at the time.
No additional information was available by press time.
