A recent rash of false fire alarms in Douglas Hall has caused residence hall officials to put up reward signs in hopes of catching the culprits.

Linda Koschoreck, director of Douglas Hall, said, “There have been several false alarms, with the pull boxes pulled, in the last three weeks. Last Tuesday alone, there were three false alarms.”

Students with information leading to the arrest and conviction of individuals setting off false fire alarms can garner a $250 reward.

“We put up the signs in the hall to remind students that there is a reward outlined in the Guidepost,” she said. Guidepost contains the regulations for residence hall life.

“We are working with the UPs to find the people who did this, but as of now, there have been no tips that I know of,” Koschoreck said.

University Police Lt. Kathy Guimond said, “From time to time this (false alarms) becomes a problem.

“Setting off false fire alarms is a class four felony, a pretty serious offense,” she said.

“It is unusual to have this many false alarms at the same time. They still happen, but not in this volume,” Koschoreck said, adding that false alarms have been very common at Douglas Hall during the last couple of weeks.

The reward signs seemed to have helped, however. “Ever since we put up the signs this week, there have been no other false alarms, though,” she said.

“They (Douglas Hall) may be working with detectives on this case,” Guimond said. “The most common way that people who do this are caught is when somebody who saw them do it turns them in.”

At least one of the alarms came during the middle of the night, said Ken Michalak, a Douglas Hall resident. “Most residents realize there is little that can be done to avoid the resulting fire drills, even if they are inconvenient,” he added.

NIU had problems earlier this semester with a rash of fire alarms pulled at DuSable Hall. The alarms caused disruption of several classes.