But much more importantly, if someone s life was in danger in the Thacher fire, that person may have been seriously injured, or killed, due to the lag in response time by rescue crews resulting from this flawed policy. Shepherd officials must seriously re-examine the fire alarm response policy. One suggestion would be to have the fire alarms on campus communicate directly to the fire department. Fire officials could then respond more expeditiously. Campus security can step up its efforts to prevent prank alarms.
Current laws allow the police and fire departments to prosecute pranksters.
If a new, more efficient policy is instituted, future campus fires can be contained much more quickly thus reducing property damage and possibly saving lives.