By Christine Roy
Ottawa firefighters and police were on location after fire alarms caused the evacuation of C building on March 5.
Students rushed outside and huddled for warmth while campus security and firefighters patrolled the building, searching for what caused the alarm to go off.
It was later revealed that the evacuation was a false alarm.
“Contractors were conducting their regular testing of the fire suppression/detection systems and inadvertently activated a detection device,” said Phil Gaudreau, Algonquin’s communications officer.
“Accidental false alarms typically happen on campus anywhere from 10 to 20 times per year.”
The alarm sounded at 1:38 p.m. and campus security permitted students to go back into the building at 1:56 p.m.
“I was in the library at the time,” says Tim Yale, a second-year library technician student. “Staff told us we had to leave.”
Students rushed out, leaving behind their belongings and a student bake sale was left unattended.