What I Saw When I Was Standing in the Cold
On Tuesday, around 6:30 p.m., I got a notification in a group chat that there was an active fire in Fox Hall. I, having a journalistic burden (but mostly because I’m nosy), thought it would be worth investigating to learn more about what happened.
The first thing I noticed when I arrived was the presence of emergency response vehicles and St. Lawrence University Safety and Security trucks parked outside. It wasn’t long before I started talking to some students who were upstairs in the Launders Science Library when the alarm went off. They told me that security didn’t show up until the fire alarm had been going off for a full 15 minutes. Now, this isn’t a huge campus, so the fact that it took that long for security to respond is a little concerning.
Regardless, the response time was embarrassingly slow. I could walk from the Safety and Security Office to Fox Hall faster than it took them to drive over, which is honestly a pretty alarming thought when you’re dealing with something as serious as a fire.
To be fair, many of the students I spoke with initially thought it was another one of SLU’s infamous fire drills—something this campus has a bit of a reputation for. But, as the students made their way downstairs, they quickly realized this was not a drill. The Student Accessibility Services office, they said, was filled with thick black smoke, but thankfully, everyone was able to evacuate unharmed. At this point, it was clear that SLU’s emergency response was not up to par.
Modafinil Direct from SupplierAs time went on, more fire trucks arrived, and firefighters were seen going in and out of Fox Hall, some carrying handheld tools while others brought in hoses or industrial fans. It was a bit chaotic, and while the firefighters were clearly doing their jobs, it was hard to shake the feeling that the situation could have been handled more efficiently by the university. Unfortunately, I was unable to speak to anyone from the Canton Fire Department, as they were obviously preoccupied.
To make matters worse, students didn’t receive any email about the fire until two hours after it started. That’s right, two hours. The email we received came from Jon Duraj, signed by Kate Morris, and by that point, the situation had already been under control for some time. The fact that it took so long for the administration to send out a notification is baffling, especially given the urgency of the situation. It really felt like a delayed and disorganized response to a crisis that, quite frankly, should have been communicated about much sooner.
This lack of timely communication only added to the overall sense of disorganization. It’s hard to understand why, in an emergency like this, it took two hours to get an official update, especially considering how fast information can spread in today’s digital age.
The entire situation paints a troubling picture of SLU’s emergency preparedness. From the slow response of security to the delayed communication, it’s clear that SLU’s emergency protocols, at least in this case, were anything but efficient. If there’s one takeaway from this, it’s that SLU’s emergency response system could certainly use some serious improvement. Whether it’s better training, faster communication or more streamlined procedures, something needs to change to ensure the safety of students and staff in future emergencies. It’s hard to feel confident in the school’s ability to handle an emergency when it takes this long to even get a basic update.