STUDENTS IN the Hub halls of residence in Dundee ‘are suffering sleepless nights’ due to a ‘faulty’ fire alarm, with parents and student unions concerned as to the fire safety of the block.
The Courier reported on the ‘repeatedly triggered’ alarm, which has resulted in a ‘series of callouts’ from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service ‘in recent days’ to the 500 room block. One parent said her daughter had temporarily moved home due to the issue, and students ‘went back into the building with the alarm still sounding’, some ‘sleeping on kitchen couches and in bathrooms to get away from the noise’.
She added: ‘It’s really concerning. Not everyone in there has parents living nearby they can come back to, so are stuck putting up with it. They are understandably not taking the alarms seriously anymore, which could be really dangerous. There could have been a real fire later on Saturday night and people wouldn’t know because the alarm was already going off.’
A spokesman for CRM Students, which runs the block, said the fault was down to the security firm paid to maintain the alarm, and added: ‘The company failed to respond when the alarm went off so the fire service had to attend. We have since had a meeting with the company and they have admitted it was their fault and promised nothing like this will happen again. The fire service are satisfied. The alarm was going off for a few hours on Saturday night.’
He also said that other callouts ‘were more likely due to genuine false alarms’, caused by toasters triggering smoke alarms, adding: ‘We have rigid health and safety systems in place. We are confident in our security and alarm procedures. The fire alarm is working properly and Saturday is a one-off.’
An SFRS spokeswoman confirmed that appliances attended the block ‘on several occasions in recent days’, while student union Dusa’s president Scott Quinn said the union was receiving ‘numerous queries’ about the alarm, commenting: ‘It is extremely disappointing, and we are urging CRM Students to find a solution to the problem as soon as possible. With the many disruptions that Covid-19 has brought, students should feel they have a peaceful accommodation to rest, live and study.
‘Not having this environment can have a lasting impact on their studies and their mental health. We would encourage CRM Students to resolve this as a high priority, and offer partial refunds to the students that have been affected. If residents are unhappy with the response from the provider, we would urge them to follow the complaints procedure at CRM Students, or raise the issue with Dundee City Council.’