Onlookers outside of Regina Hall on Saturday. Photo courtesy Anna-Jo Stuart.

Story by Anna-Jo Stuart, Opinion Editor
Photos courtesy Anna-Jo Stuart

Those who were anywhere on campus Saturday evening, October 5th, may have heard or seen the eight Grand Rapids fire trucks that responded to fire alarms in Regina Hall. Around 7 p.m. the first fire truck sirens were heard driving to Regina via the Woodward entrance, and within ten minutes eight fire trucks lined up from Regina to Woodward.

All this commotion got many students’ attention, and soon there was a crowd watching from around the soccer field. It became clear to bystanders that whatever was happening inside of Regina must not have been that severe, as many of the firemen did not even leave their trucks. 

As it happens, the incident was quite small. The cause of all the commotion was an overloaded dryer on the 3rd floor of Regina East. According to Julie Blaszak, Director of Resident Life and Community Standards, one of the dryers on this floor was overfilled by clothing, which caused it to overheat and smoke. She explained the large turnout by the fire department with, “anytime a full fire alarm goes off in a building with an unknown cause, the fire department is called to respond”.

There was only damage to the overheated dryer. Regardless, Blaszak would like to remind students that “It is very important that students do not overload the clothes dryers with clothes when doing laundry as it can damage the dryer.  Clothes and other soft goods like linens and towels need space to move around within the dryer.”