WRGW Special Report: Fire Alarm in Thurston Hall

At approximately 2 AM this morning, the freshmen residing in Thurston Hall were forced to evacuate from a fire alarm that was tripped by the use of a fire extinguisher. According to Chief Stafford of the University Police Department, the identity of the perpetrator is still under investigation.

Stafford says that the fire extinguisher in question was “discharged for no apparent reason.” The act itself of discharging the fire extinguisher occurred on the 9^th floor of Thurston, adding another element of unwelcome surprise to the wakening of those residents to the fire alarm. The residents of that floor exited their rooms to find a haze in the air, as well as a yellowish fire extinguishing agent all along the carpeted hall. Some students, originally complacent about leaving the building because they assumed it was a false alarm, only rushed to evacuate upon seeing what looked like smoke and the obvious use of the fire extinguisher.

Evacuating students from almost all floors were, at some points, at a standstill en masse on the stairs leading down to the first floor exit. However, Stafford states, “I have no information in the report leading me to believe that the building evacuation didn’t go smoothly. It is a large building.” She added that she was satisfied with the response time of the fire department to the scene.

-Jennifer Neuner