Beacon Hall Evacuated After False Alarm

By Brandon T. Bisceglia

Editor-in-Chief Emeritus

Students mill about outside Beacon Hall on Monday morning, waiting for security to allow them back inside.

Photo by Brandon T. Bisceglia

The fire alarms in Beacon Hall were activated three times on Monday morning, leading to an evacuation of the building.

The cause of the alarms, which began at approximately 10:40 a.m., was not immediately known. Director of Security Christopher Gough said his department was investigating.

The high-pitched buzzing and flashing strobes of the alarms interrupted classes. Students, professors and staff members poured out of the building into the courtyard and other areas near the entrances.

After about ten minutes, people were allowed to reenter Beacon Hall.

The first time that the alarms were activated, they lasted only a minute before being abruptly halted. This caused confusion among some students and teachers.

"We were about to leave when it stopped," said Adriana Cedeño, a Criminal Justice major at HCC who was in the middle of her Criminology class at the time. "Since it went off, we sat back down. We didn't leave until the third one."

Some were critical of the disorderly way in which the evacuation was handled.

Theater Arts major and Student Life employee Theresa Giorgio was working in the Wellness Center at the time.

"When the alarm went off, the students tried to grab their stuff from their lockers," she said. "I think we're all old enough to know we're supposed to leave if there might be a fire."

Director of Student Activities Linda Bayusik was also disappointed at the slow reaction to the alarm.

"There were students playing table tennis in the Game Room, so I told them to leave. They hadn't noticed. Then I went to the TV Room and the lounge [on the third floor], and found people there, too," she said.

"You cannot treat the alarm as a joke," she added.

Horizons will bring you updates on the alarm and the handling of school emergencies in upcoming issues.