MICHAEL MEISINGER

Business freshman Talia Spiler (from left), biology freshman Hanna Swanson and political science freshman Shannon Ross wait outside La Paz Residence Hall during a routine fire drill yesterday evening. La Paz was evacuated in just over three minutes during the unannounced drill.

Thursday August 30, 2001 |

Officials pull sneak drills on dorm residents last night

UA students were put to the test when university and fire officials scheduled a surprise fire drill for every residence dorm yesterday evening.

This is the first drill officials have executed this year, but Facilities Management officials were confident everything would go according to plan.

Facilities Management officials met with hall directors over the summer to secure a plan for evacuating students as quickly as possible.

Most residents were well aware of how to act during a fire drill.

"Everyone knew - it wasn't too sure - if it was real, but we knew what to do," said Haakon Sundrey, a media arts sophomore and resident of La Paz Residence Hall.

Students at La Paz seemed shocked at first but eventually began filing through to their assigned locations well away from the building. The dorm was evacuated in just over three minutes.

"This is really a good sign that RAs and directors are getting the word out on what to do," said Jose Arizpe, building safety manager for Risk Management.

Plans for the fire drill were kept secret in order to make the situation as real as possible. Officials gave information on the fire drill to a select few.

"If students knew, most students would just choose to not be around," said Herb Wagner, associate director of Risk Management. "We need to get as clear a picture as possible in order to know what still needs work."

Wagner said the job of assuring an efficiently timed evacuation is especially crucial after a fire-related tragedy at another university in January 2000.

"Anyone who we catch ignoring the alarm is given a good lesson by letting him or her know about what happened at Seton Hall," he said.

A fire at Seton claimed the lives of three residents in a dorm. The three reportedly ignored the fire alarm when it sounded.

University of Arizona officials say they are concerned with the all-too-common false alarms - often started by residents playing a joke. All dorms hold a policy to expel anyone from their residence if they pull an alarm when it is not an emergency. Officials have installed cameras that view alarm-activating devices, as well as a plastic box that makes a high-pitched sound whenever it is lifted.

Officials said they feel that only one building failed their test last year. Sky View Apartments, 1050 E. Eighth St., received the worst evacuation time due to a faulty fire alarm system that came with the building when the university purchased it. Sky View Apartments are now hooked up to the advanced fire alert system that 211 UA buildings share.

"With the new system, UAPD has the ability to pinpoint the exact location of the fire and even possibly estimate how many trucks are needed for the call," said Joe Banaum, interior systems manager for Facilities Management.