Fire alarms force students out of buildings

Students were forced to evacuate several buildings on campus when fire alarms sounded on Wednesday.

Some of the buildings that were evacuated included the Hyrum Manwaring Center, David O. McKay Library, George S. Romney, Jacob Spori and John W. Hart buildings.

The alarm was caused by a frozen fire hydrant that thawed in the warmer temperature, causing the water pressure to shift which set off the water flow alarm, said Corey Child, fire chief of the Rexburg Fire Department.

Numerous students stood outside of the buildings waiting for the alarms to be reset. Some students were carrying on their group work from the class they were forced out of. Others used the time to socialize. Many students were hypothesizing with one another on why the alarms went off in so many buildings.

Emeka Nwabunwanne, a senior studying construction management who works in the McKay Library, began ushering students outside when the alarms sounded. He found it ironic that fire alarms went off in multiple buildings. He speculated that it was an electrical issue.

"Still, we can't let people in until we know for sure," said Nwabunwanne as he stood guard at the library's doors.

This fire alarm is one of many that the campus has seen this semester. Many students have had to evacuate various buildings on several occasions.

Aaron Sessions, a sophomore studying communications, was being tutored in the library for his Mandarin Chinese class when the alarm went off in the library.

"I didn't think it sounded like a fire alarm, so I was confused," said Sessions. "I have been in four fire alarms this semester. None of them seemed like they were [legitimate]. I can't tell if there is just a glitch in [the school's] system or not."

Eventually, all alarms were reset and students were permitted to enter the buildings again.

"Kudos to the students for evacuating the buildings so well," said fire chief Child.