By Kiara Catanzaro
Staff Writer
Numerous false fire alarms have been reported on campus within the last month. Students caught from the incidents are facing felony charges according to Ralph Aloia, deputy director of Safety and Security.
“Up until last year, we were getting two false alarms each year. In 2012, the statistics changed to about 15 incidents regarding false fire alarms or tampering with fire safety equipment,” Aloia said.
The four students who pulled fire alarms were caught by security and charged by local authorities.
“It’s sub-section 240 of the New York State Penal Code: Falsely Reporting an incident.”
Vito Czyz, director of safety and security, explained the punishment given to students who are caught tampering with safety equipment on campus.
“Any student caught from the incident would go straight to Judicial Affairs to receive notice, which normally includes community service in addition to the punishment from the outside agency,” said Czyz.
Aloia said he hopes that students will understand the severity of pulling fire alarms when there isn’t an emergency.
“When someone pulls a fire alarm, firefighters and police are on call. They are taken from their station where they could miss an emergency. False-fire alarms use emergency services during fake emergencies which hinders the safety of the community.”
Officers in Safety and Security understand the difference between an emergency and when a student falsely tampers with a fire alarm, Czyz said.
“We never have a fire drill on a weekend,” Czyz said. “If there is a fire alarm that goes off in the late hours of the night, or in the early morning on Friday or Saturday, students can normally assume that it’s a student responsible for the alarm. We don’t conduct drills during those hours.”
Aloia explains the consequences regarding jobs for the students if they are convicted of a felony.
“A felony never goes away from an arrest record,” Aloia said. “Nowadays, most jobs require a background check and having a felony of any kind could potentially ruin your chances of receiving that particular job.”
Finally, Aloia hopes that students will learn to think before they act on a decision. Given recent incidents, students can prevent these situations from happening in the first place.
“All incidents regarding fire-safety equipment are preventable,” Aloia said. “These recent situations were unnecessary. Students need to consider the consequences before they decide to make a decision.”
