No joke: Redmond HS fire alarm pulled 6 times in a day

(Update: Comments from principal, fire marshal)

Pulling a fire alarm when there is no fire is a dangerous activity. But that’s what happened six times Monday at Redmond High School, bringing an increased police presence on Tuesday.

NewsChannel 21 found out about the false alarms after several viewers asked about police at the school.

School officials said police were there to deter similar activity on Tuesday.

Of the six alarms, five caused students to be evacuated. The sixth happened when students were already in the midst of evacuating.

Redmond High School Principal Paul Nolan said this is not normal.

“It’s a real danger, as people are evacuating the building,” he said. “We have students with disabilities who do not respond well to the loud noises and flashing lights.

“We have students with medical conditions like epilepsy, and these fire alarms could cause a seizure for them. So someone who thinks it’s a harmless prank could really end up hurting someone.”

NewsChannel 21 spoke with Redmond Fire Marshal Traci Cooper to find out what other risks a false fire alarm can pose.

“I always like using the saying of, ‘If we’re all over here on a false call and your grandmother had a heart attack on this side of town, and that delay didn’t get them the needed help in that medical emergency that they desperately needed, it could cost a life,'” Cooper said.

The Redmond Fire Department didn’t actually respond to any of the school’s calls Monday because officials were able to quickly let them know they were false.

Redmond High School officials say they are looking into who pulled the alarms. And on Tuesday morning, there were two extra police officers on campus to make sure there wasn’t a repeat.