This past week, the CII building was closed for nearly two hours after a fire broke out on the fourth floor. The cause: complete irresponsibility on the part of a student. For as long as I can remember, my classmates and I have always been taught safety procedures to help us in case of emergency. At an Institute such as ours, it seems only natural to think that students would follow the guidance that they have been given if an emergency situation were to arise. We’re proud of being among the best of the best. We like having some of the highest-tech labs in the world. Yet we can’t seem to take care of these facilities when we need to most.
As you’ve probably read in another article in this issue, the student placed a smoking science experiment into a trash can after removing it from a portable fume hood. Why someone would remove a smoking object from a compartment specifically designed to contain fires is beyond me. Additionally, it’s a terrible idea to put a smoking object into another container that you don’t know the contents of. I would imagine that the rest of our student body sees the serious nature of this incident and that they will take steps to ensure that it never happens again.
I am calling on you, fellow RPI students, to take the time to think through your actions in laboratory settings. Not sure what will happen when you mix two chemicals? Ask your professor; he or she will be more than happy to help. When an accident happens, do your best to correct the situation. But if you don’t know what the results of your actions will be, find someone who can correct the situation. Sometimes, doing nothing is better than doing the wrong thing.
Luckily, no one was seriously injured by this incident, and no permanent damage was done to the building. The situation certainly could have been worse, and I think a thank you should go to the Troy Fire Department for taking the necessary steps to contain and put out the fire. They put themselves in harm’s way to correct a foolish mistake by one of our students. While this incident is something that many would like to forget, we should all remember to be responsible students. Being careless puts others at risk, and that next small mistake could be one that you’ll regret for a very long time.
