ASU Residential Life is warning students in Barrett, the Honors College of an individual who has been tampering and disabling fire equipment.
“At this point, the person(s) involved is being classified as a serial arsonist and is facing the charge of arson to an occupied structure,” said Alex Merchant, an assistant residential coordinator, in an e-mail sent to residents. “This is a class two felony.”
There have been no actual fires in the buildings. If the individual is caught they could face up to five years in prison, he said.
False fire alarms, often in the middle of the night, have caused evacuations of several buildings in the complex, requiring professional and student staff to work extra hours, Merchant said.
Students with any information about the person or persons responsible are asked to talk to their Community Assistant, Merchant said.
The message said University Housing staff has been working with the police department to increase police presence throughout the complex.
Jim Hardina, spokesman for ASU Police, said if someone got hurt while exiting the building, the person who falsely pulled the alarm could be arrested for civil damages or manslaughter.
“If you damage a fire detector or make a false alarm, you could held liable for the fire response,” he said.
—Maxfield Barker
