After the fifth fire the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill has seen in recent months, UNC officials are planning to crack down on improper student behavior during fire alarms by issuing criminal citations to students who do not evacuate the building.
Dan Jones, UNC's fire chief, said if students do not evacuate a building in which a fire alarm has sounded, they will be charged with a fine ranging from $50 to $148. Those students also will be tried at the school's Student Honor Court.
Although the North Carolina law is not new, Jones said police have not actively enforced it in the past.
The most recent fire, which occurred on Wednesday morning in the UNC's Morrison Residence Hall, is "suspicious in nature," Jones said.
However, there were no suspects as of yesterday.
Although most of the 900 students in the building evacuated at the sound of the alarm, there were too many students who remained inside, said Dean Bresciani, UNC associate vice chancellor for student services.
Many students do not evacuate because they "don't want to stand outside and be cold," he said.
He added a warning to students who stay indoors when a fire alarm is activated.
"Any time a fire alarm sounds, you have to take it seriously because you only have one chance in a real fire," Bresciani said.
Jones said UNC has placed an advertisement in the student newspaper, sent e-mails to students and has held hall meetings in dormitories to make students aware of the need to evacuate.
"Our students have been very supportive" of the efforts, Bresciani said. "Independent students realize that if residents stay in the building, it is a threat to their safety."
Each residence hall at UNC is equipped with smoke and fire detection systems, but only six of the 29 residence halls have a sprinkler system installed in the event of a fire.
Despite 130 fire alarm activations last year, six were real fires.
There were four arsons at UNC in November over a span of one week.
Daniel T. Sarrell, a junior at UNC, was arrested and charged with first-degree arson.
Sarrell later was released under the stipulation that he would receive mental help.
Similar events have occurred around the nation recently.
An arson took place at a Seton Hall University dormitory Jan. 19 -- three students died and 62 were injured in the incident.
There were no sprinkler systems in the building.
Seton Hall officials have yet to comment on whether the fire was set intentionally.
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