Ignoring fire alarms could endanger students

University officials and the Philadelphia Fire Department are urging dorm residents to respond to all fire alarms, in light of the three cooking fires that led to the separate evacuations of High Rise North and High Rise South this weekend. In the event of an emergency more severe than Friday's or Saturday's incidents, fire fighters might have not been able to save students who did not evacuate their rooms when the alarm sounded, according Lt. Charles Crowther of the Philadelphia Fire Department's fire prevention division. The fire department's ladders and other aerial devices only reach to the seventh floor of high rise buildings, he added. This means fire fighters would be forced to perform rescue missions from inside the building. "If they don't evacuate and move themselves to the stairwells, all they're doing is inviting disaster," Crowther said. "It's going to be very difficult for us to get to you until we've already controlled the fire." Gordon Rickards, Residential Living's assistant director for residential safety, security and facilities, said this weekend's incidents demonstrate the need for students to follow fire evacuation instructions. When so many alarms occur within a short time span, some students decide not to bother leaving their rooms, Rickards said. Fire drills are always advertised through Residential Living signs in the lobby of each building. A danger is presented when dorm residents ignore unannounced alarms, he said. "And the amount of alarms that go off because of pranks also makes it harder for people to want to leave," Rickards added. "We do need the participation of the student body." But Fire and Occupational Safety Director James Miller said the high rises are structurally fire resistant and safe. High rises -- which are defined as buildings that extend beyond the reach of fire department aerial devices -- must meet more stringent regulations for construction and safety codes than smaller buildings, he said. "High rise buildings by their nature and construction are very safe," Miller said. He added that no more than one person has ever been killed in any Philadelphia high rise building fire. Rickards said special fire evacuation procedures have been set for those who need assistance or are physically disabled. He added that those students who do not follow procedures put fire fighters' lives in danger as well as their own. "Why put the firemen in jeopardy in order to rescue someone who refused to leave?" Rickards asked.