Gisbert Kapp evacuated after burnt toast sets off fire alarm

Scores of students were evacuated from their morning lectures after a piece of burnt toast set off the fire alarm. 

English Literature students attending lectures in Gisbert Kapp yesterday morning got an extra wake up call when the alarm caused the whole building to be evacuated.

Third year English student Lexi Harvey, one of the evacuees, said: “I was in my first lecture of the semester at 10am.

“We’d only been there for about 15 minutes when the fire alarm went off.”

She continued: “Everyone grabbed their stuff and we were told to leave quickly.

“No one was particularly worried as it never seems to be a real fire, but everyone was a bit annoyed that we had to go out and wait in the cold.

“The stairs were pretty packed as the whole building had to be evacuated, but we got down in about five minutes.”

It was immediately clear to students what had set off the fire alarm.

Lexi added: “As soon as we got into the foyer near the dining area, it smelt strongly of burnt toast, so it was pretty obvious why the alarm had been set off.”

Another final year English student said: “The whole building smelt like burning plastic.

“This woman was screaming at us all to get on the grass.

“The lecture was putting me to sleep anyway.”

Lectures were disrupted for around 20 minutes in total.

After the the fire alarm was disabled, classes continued as normal for the rest of the day.