False fire alarms decrease
Pter pressure from Abel residents after an
increased staff effort to alert them to the dangers
of false fire alarms may have helped reduce false
alarms in the last two weeks.
Before the staff went to the students,
pranksters turned in 10 false alarms in a little
over two weeks. Ron Bollheimer, Abel residence
director (RD) said only two or three had been
reported in the last two weeks.
Student safety was directly jeopardized by the
alarms when students began stuffing the bells
with paper and shaving cream to cut the noise.
When an alarm was sounded students stayed in
their rooms and could have been trapped there
during a real fire, Bollheimer said.
Letters sent
Abel RD's sent out letters to each resident
explaining the costs and dangers of false alarms,
and student assistants alerted students to the
problems at floor meetings, he said.
Lincoln Fire Chief Dallas Johnson said the
students have pledged their cooperation in
solving the rash of alarms which are punishable
by $100 andor 30 days in jail, but that he has
received no information on the pranksters'
identities.
The UNL housing office is shopping for
inexpensive alarm covers that would make it
necessary for a student to break glass and make
noise to pull an alarm. Joe Zannini, assistant
director of housing for maintenance operation,
said the glass covers were used to reduce the
number of false alarms at the University of
Wisconsin. ,
Cage the bells
The housing office may also place cages over
the bells so students can t tamper with them, he
said.
The false alarms not only slow student
response to real alarms, Johnson said, but also
deprive others of fire-fighting time and
equipment, cause traffic problems and cost
money.
Johnson said less than 1 per cent of Lincoln
fire alarms are false, but that nine-tenths of that
number are at UNL residence halls. Each
complex has some every year, but Abel seems to
have a rash of them, he said.
Since January 1, 14 men in two fire engines,
one ladder, truck and a deputy chiefs car
responded to'each of the 18 fire alarms at UNL
residence halls. Seventeen of them were false arid
one was a legitimate smoke scare, a spokesman
for the fire department records office said.
Thirteen of those runs were to Abel, he said.
Tourney may move next year
The Nebraska high school
basketball tournament
probably will be held in the
new sports complex next
spring. According to Captain
Kenneth Markle of campus
security, that arrangement will
be "much easier and much
safer for everyone.
"The parking lot will be
much better and there will be
no hassle about fans taking
away parking space . from
students," Markle said.
He said because of the
fairgrounds' location, security
next year will be a joint effort
by campus security, the
Lancaster County sheriff and
Lincoln police.
"It'll be more convenient
for everybody, more
comfortable for the fans.
Things will work a lot
smoother," Markle said.
"Inside security will be
practically the same," he said.
"We'll have the same number
of officers inside, and fewer
parking officers outside."
Markle said the bleachers in
the Coliseum have been used
almost since its construction,
"The bleachers weren't the
sturdiest," he said. Markle said
he often feared the bleachers
might collapse under the strain
of a crowd.
Markle said problems with
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this year's basketball
tournament "could have been
worse."
The major difficulty during
the tournament arose when
Creighton Prep fans built a
human pyramid at half time of
the class A finals. Markle said
they had permission to build
the pyramid but an Omaha
Central fan ran out and
knocked it down.
"There were very few
fights," Markle said. "There
weren't more than four fights
reported in the three days.
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Photo by Kvin Higly
Lincoln Fire Chief Dallas Johnson
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I Z,r7X Z?r OF V YORK COMES TO LINCOLN:
Pictured are a few shoes that epitomize the glamour and fashion
of New York. Our buyer is in New York constantly making
sure that the fashion conscious women pf Lincoln are exposed
to the very same shoes, at the very same time, as their
counterparts in New York.
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thursdav. march 20. 1975
daily nebraskan
page 7