Stouffer College House on Sept. 30, 2023.
Credit: Julia NguyenA music room remains closed in Stouffer College House after two separate fire alarms forced residents to evacuate.
The first fire alarm — which began at 7 a.m. on March 31 — was caused due to a fire that originated in music room A100, according to a statement from Penn Division of Public Safety's Director of Communications Stacy Ritchey. The second fire alarm, on the same day, was allegedly caused by a residential advisor burning toast. Both fire alarms went off in the Stouffer Hall building of Stouffer College House.
Wharton first-year Chase Barrow told The Daily Pennsylvanian that it was not initially clear whether there was an actual fire or a drill.
“I got out of bed and went outside because everybody was gathering out there, and nobody really knew what was going on,” Barrow said. “Around 30 minutes later, we finally went in.”
Barrow added that he did not receive an email or official statement regarding the alarm and that some of his friends had to evacuate once more that day due to the second fire alarm.
College first-year Sepp Kohler said that the second alarm went off around 11 a.m. or 12 p.m., but fewer people evacuated the building.
“It turns out that an RA actually burned toast in the microwave,” Kohler said. “I’m not sure who would try and make toast in the microwave; they did, and learned that there’s more than one option on the microwave.”
College first-year Anna Mueller said that the fire may have been related to smoking.
“When the firefighters exited, one of them made a comment like ‘don’t smoke while playing the piano’ and made it sound as though there may have been a smoking-related fire,” Mueller said to the DP. “It seems as though nobody knows or really saw what set off the alarm.”
Kohler also said that they heard from the firefighters that someone had been smoking cigarettes in the piano room, adding that the stairwell next to the music room smelled like tobacco for the next three days. Neither Barrow nor Kohler said that they were not aware of any information as to when the music room would be reopened.
In a statement to the DP, Ritchey wrote that there were no injuries found as a result of the fire.
“The Philadelphia Fire Department responded and found the fire had self-extinguished, leaving scorch marks and minor damage,” Ritchey wrote.
All three students who spoke to the DP said that the evacuation went as expected and they did not observe anything out of the ordinary.
“Both times, it was an inconvenience overall, but no one was put in danger,” Kohler said.
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