BKaF – Brad Kovach and Friends

Somebody decided to pull the fire alarm at 1:30 AM this morning. If it was a legitimate emergency, I have no problem with this … but it sounds like it was just a typical pre-summer prank.

I suck at recognizing emergencies (or much of anything) in the morning. I heard a shrill siren and blue/white lights going off in the halls, and tried to think what could be causing this. My brain said, “Somebody’s room is going off.” I thought I’d put on some proper pants, shoes, and my glasses so I could stand outside and look angry at whoever had the “loud room”. I opened the door and –AAGH!! The noise was so loud, it actually felt like it was crushing my skull.

My roommate, Carissa, has a brain that doesn’t lag so much as mine, so she grabbed a blanket and started putting on her shoes. I followed her out and noticed there was a bunch of Resident Assistants waving their arms and banging on peoples’ doors. It occured to me then that this was what was known as A Fire Alarm. … Ohhh, okay. That makes sense.

And so I began the long trek down 14 flights of stairs with my fellow residents, with the screaming alarm assaulting our eardrums on each floor. Living just about at the top of a building during a fire alarm is a bum deal.

Thankfully, there was no huge fire, our building and possessions didn’t smolder for days, and everybody was okay. This got me thinking, though … what would I do next time this happened? What should you grab on your way out of your potentially-flaming room?

Glasses: probably. if you end up having to jump from rooftop to rooftop*, these might be useful.
Shoes: if they’re slip-on shoes. No one’s going to wait for you while you lace up your Converse.
Roommate: definitely.
Favorite stuffed animal: no.
iPod/mp3 player: no.
Wii: for Pete’s sake, NO.
Fuzzy green blanket: sure, if it’s cold out.
Homework: screw it.
Larry the Potted Plant: sorry, Larry.
Pants: might come in handy.

Within 10 minutes of exiting the building, the RAs deemed it safe to go back inside again. We all trudged back up those five billion stairs and flopped back into bed, even less ready to go to early morning classes than we had been before the alarm.

Hopefully I’ll never have to experience Unnecessary Fire Alarm Pulling again … but I doubt crazy freshmen are going to show that kind of restraint.

* jumping from rooftop to rooftop is never going to happen in Wyoming.