Edited by Richard George and Christina Lee
EEER! EEER! EEER! That’s the sound of the fire alarm at East Rock Community & Cultural Studies Magnet School.
In September, those screeches interrupted learning at East Rock School three different times, sending screaming fire trucks up to the main entrance on Nash Street.
“Three in one month is unusual,” said New Haven Fire Chief John Alston. “We usually get one or two.”
When the fire alarm goes off, over 400 students and teachers and staff must stop class, line up outside of their classroom, and leave the school to gather by the field next to the school. Books and computers are left open. Students, faculty, and staff stand outside, waiting to be let back in.
The New Haven Fire Department deployed several trucks to the school, causing panic and concern among students, teachers, and staff.
“We had to stop learning,” said fifth-grader Lorenzo Schmitt. He had to leave Keith Wolkovitz’s class, along with all three of us.
Like Mr. Schmitt, other students have found the alarms disruptive to their learning.
“I don’t like when students pull the fire alarm when there’s no fire,” said Van Smith, in fourth grade. “I’m just annoyed, I guess.”
Third-grader Christalee Rodriguez said false fire alarms are a bad trend among students who want attention instead of having fun and learning. According to the East Rock Record Fall/Winter 2025 Survey, 43 percent of students responded that it’s “annoying” when the fire alarm goes off during class.
Principal Sabrina Breland doesn’t like the fire alarms to be pulled because it interrupts the school’s learning environment.
“The teachers aren’t allowed to continue with their lesson plan because one student disrupts everything,” Ms. Breland said. “It also scares some of our younger students.”
Teachers and school administrators have different ideas about what to do. Most say students should be punished. Fourth-grade teacher Angela Maiocco also said that students who pull the fire alarm should be punished.
“I think there should be harsh consequences. More than a suspension,” she said.
Mrs. Maiocco suggested that students write letters of apologies to the fire department, and then do community service as a way to repay for the harm to the community.
Ms. Rodriguez proposed a similar response, suggesting that the offending student should write an essay about their actions. Mr. Smith believes the student’s parents should be told that their kid pulled the fire alarm. According to ERR’s survey, 80 percent of students in East Rock Magnet School believe students should be punished for pulling a false fire alarm.
Principal Breland believes the school’s response should depend on the circumstances.
“If someone does it inadvertently, and we can prove by the cameras that it was an accident, it would be a reminder that they should be calm in the hallways,” she said.
But if a student does it on purpose, said Principal Breland, the school should meet with the student’s family to learn why it happened, and then have a consequence that fits the situation.
When the fire alarm goes off and there is no fire, it is more than just annoying.
Chief Alston said false alarms prevent the fire department from responding to actual fires in New Haven, which endangers members of the community. “If that fire truck is at a school for a false alarm, that means for somebody else who needs them — because we do medical calls — that truck is unavailable. It’s going to take longer to get those resources.”
If someone pulls the alarm as a joke, said Assistant Chief Shakira Samuel, that person should have to learn about fire and community safety.
“We like to educate our students as well as the staff of the schools on the importance of not pulling fire alarms,” she said.
However, Asst. Chief Samuel said that it is not annoying to check up on schools, even for false alarms, because it is their job to take all calls seriously.
“Anytime someone pulls a fire alarm, we will always respond,” Chief Alston said. “You don’t have to pull the fire alarm for us to come. Just ask us.”
