Featured photo by Hannah Carley
Story by Hannah Carley and Megan Goble
MTSU Police evacuated the Student Union into a heatwave following a fire alarm malfunction Wednesday afternoon.
Temperatures reached 97 degrees while students huddled under trees for shelter and stood on the STU’s outer brick path during the nearly 25-minute-long evacuation and clearing of the building.
MTSU was part of an air quality alert that affected Rutherford County. The Tennessee Air Quality Forecast Program urged individuals in a sensitive group to avoid prolonged outdoor exposure. This includes children, older adults and people with health conditions, such as respiratory diseases.
MTSU student Myles Valrie said he worried about his basic needs being met in the weather conditions.
“It seems like even with this heat, being hydrated isn’t helping at all, it’s just so hot,” Valrie said. ”It’s very dangerous to be in the hot weather for so long cause you feel like you’re losing air.”
Firefighters, University Life and Safety and Campus Police arrived at 1:53 p.m. and cleared the building at 2:15 p.m. They did not find an emergency and confirmed the fire alarm malfunctioned, according to campus police officer Patrick Fajardo.
A large amount of foot traffic that vibrates the walls and floors or a bump into a box could trigger manual fire alarm boxes mounted to walls, Fajardo said.
False fire alerts are highly uncommon, he said. Many real alerts from campus are non-emergent, like students who burned food and set off their dorm’s smoke detectors.
“The biggest fire I’ve seen on campus is a burning trash can,” Fajardo said.
Although no emergency occurred, first responders arrived on the scene within the same minute they were dispatched. MTSU student Erin McDermott expressed relief that first responders handled it quickly.
“It’s nice to know they’re taking things seriously, even if it’s just a fire alarm,” said McDermott. “I appreciate that.”
Hannah Carley and Megan Goble are contributing reporters for MTSU Sidelines.
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