It’s 10 p.m. on a weekend, and I’ve snuggled up in bed with all sorts of snacks to rewatch Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Ahh, cozy, right? WRONG. Because DING DING DING there goes the obnoxious, unplanned fire alarm in SFU Residence. Now I have to rush down seven flights of stairs to wait outside in the cold for at least half an hour until it is turned off.
Once, the fire alarm started at 1 a.m. during exam season. I’ve also screamed internally when that horrible noise rang again within a mere two-week interval — during the holidays when there was a grand total of seven residents in my entire building, no less.
Whether it’s an alarm malfunctioning issue, someone smoking in their room, or some idiot pulling the alarm because they have a pathetic sense of humour, it is extremely annoying whenever the alarm unexpectedly sounds. Not to mention that it undermines the importance of planned fire drills. More and more people are staying inside their rooms when these alarms go off. I’ve even heard of students throwing out their fire alarms in frustration.
I’ll still drag my lazy ass down the stairs each time it rings, but the sense of urgency that fire alarms should invoke is now as watered-down as Dining Hall coffee.
