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Yeah but why would she be calling her name unless she wanted to help her…or was about to beat her like a bongo drum. Not that the latter is UNLIKELY for Billie…
Fire alarms are for fires. Pulling one when there is no fire can get you in legal trouble (fines, jail). If a firefighter or anyone else gets injured while responding to your false alarm, you will be charged with assault, or, god forbid someone dies, manslaughter. Seriously.
Not to mention the rough justice that other dorm residents may decide to inflict after you inconvenience them.
As someone who lives in a dorm… it’s no inconvenience at all. We all just ignore the fire alarms at this point.
Scott
As someone who also lives in a dorm, I can tell you that not all fire alarms are created equal. Ours can’t be ignored. There’s the klaxon and the blinding flashing lights to contend with. And if you don’t get out in time and it’s a drill they do it again. -__-
Kevin
To be clear, they were setting off the automated fire alarm by filling the kitchen with smoke from their burnt food and triggering the smoke detectors, not pulling a manual alarm.
Kevin
I completely replied to the wrong post with my follow up post. I am shamed.
Pat
And that’s why the university I went to is crazy about fire safety. Because a few years prior to that a dorm burned down and not everybody bothered to leave. There was a scholarship named after an RA who died when she went back into the building to pound on doors to inform people that it was a legitimate emergency.
Kevin
Fall quarter last year my roommates set off the fire alarm while cooking *four times* in one quarter. Remember that one quarter is eleven weeks. They also managed to do it *after midnight* all four times, always because one of them was trying to play a videogame while cooking.
By the fourth time (during finals week naturally) all I did was open the door to give them an evil glare, then curled up in bed and waited out the mandatory 30-minute period before the 140-decibel alarm can be turned off with a pillow over my ears.
Naturally I ratted them to the housing administration, cuz, yeah… four times in eleven weeks….
I think in this case, she’d get away with a warning and stern talking to that, next time, she should call the local police department or 911 if she suspects someone is in danger instead of pulling the fire alarm
Fairly certain there are clauses for when somebody panics and does something stupid (ie pulls the fire alarm) in a potentially emergency situation
Why would you get injured responding to a non-fire? Not that I am condoning prank fire-alarm pulls…
qka
When responding to a fire alarm, firefighters will treat it as a real emergency, going lights and sirens. Lights and sirens make other drivers do stupid things that can cause accidents. Also a significant number of firefighters get involved in accidents.
In the US, roughly 100 firefighters die each year in line of duty deaths, that is to say they die doing their job. IIRC, about 20% of those deaths are vehicle accident related. Off the top of my head I don’t have any statistics on non-fatal injuries.
Do you want to be the cause of someone else being injured or killed?
I should add that my department responds to a college. This is a real sensitive issue with me, given the real-world cluelessness of college students.
Andy
So, what’s worse? Being called in for a prank fire alarm, or because some idiot burned their dinner in the dorm kitchen?
Li
Both suck, but obviously the prank is worse. One is an accident, and even if the person involved should have known better, that person is obviously less of a pile of ignorant selfishness than the jerk who pulled the fire alarm for funsies.
Kevin
What if they burn their dinner four times in one quarter?
The exception being when Billie snuck in and she wasn’t dressed yet. As perverted as that sounds, that honestly is the one scene I’ve seen with Mary where she doesn’t get on my nerves.
marr
I think she should wait for Mary to go into the bathroom, then pull it.
Willis, are you me from the future? Or an alternate universe? Or is there some sort of hive mind that college idiots tap into?
Because I swear, something almost exactly like that happened in my dorm, last quarter.
As in winter.
marr
It happens in military training dorms too. for every dumb excuse. luckily for me, most of the time it was done when the bar on base was still open and I was legal to drink. So, I would just walk the half block from the dorm to the bar and wait out the alarm.
Groove
When I was at university it was more often than not an automated activation. In my first year we had heat sensors in the kitchens rather than smoke, and during freshers week some company gave out popcorn makers as a promotion. Naturally, the operating temperature of the popcorn maker was enough to set the heat sensor off, given that the only free space in the kitchen was the table under the sensor. It didn’t help that people got drunk, forgot this fact, and did it over and over again.
When I returned to halls in a later year I had a ground floor dorm, so I kept 2-4 beers and a bottle opener by my window. Standard practice during an alarm was my friend across the hall would come over, we’d climb out my window, into the field on the opposite side of the building from the designated point, then drink in the sun until the alarm passed.
Toad
Do people at other colleges actually leave when the fire alarm goes off? We usually just assume some idiot hot-boxed their room and go back to studying.
Pat
That sounds illegal.
As well as life-threatening, but that probably goes without saying.
Toad
What sounds illegal? Not leaving? Pretty sure you’re legally allowed to burn to death if you so choose…
Or did you mean the hot-boxing? ‘Cause yeah, but when has that ever stopped college students from getting their high on?
Narf
Yeah, why wouldn’t you legally be allowed to stay inside a burning dorm, thus requiring firefighters to risk THEIR lives to run into a blazing inferno to carry your dumb ass out of it? Makes perfect sense to me!
Wait a second…
Toad
Hmm, you make a good point; hadn’t thought about that. Still, is it actually illegal to not leave a building when the fire alarm’s been pulled, or is it just a Really Bad Idea?
at my school you could get fined in the traditional dorms. Note there were people who wouldn’t leave but I was always sure that if it wasn’t a fire they would check my dorm so I would get up. I even considered hiding in a closet once but that was at 3 in the morning so my mind was on why I wasn’t sleeping right now. I lived on the top floor too which was hell to walk at the wee hours of most alarms. In the suite style dorms it was more fluid since most fire alarms were from people making bacon (no really every alarm that went off at least in our room was from bacon not burning just cooking) they would just call up to your room to check what is going on
Pat
In a public building… not sure. I think so, but now you’ve made me doubt myself.
In a dorm, it’s almost certainly very against the rules. Technically “illegal” but not what most people use the term to mean. I know they checked the rooms after the alarm went of in the dorms at my university.
If she learns them well it could save her life when the dorm is over run by parasitic aliens and she needs to survive until the space marines get there.
Well that would wake her up if she was passed out, and she would also probably have to take some sort of role call outside so if she doesn’t show, Billie might screw her over.
Why do I choose to phrase it like that in this chat?
136 thoughts on “Break into”
Jen Aside
Because screaming someone’s name in concern = breaking in? \=| THANKS MARY
AJBulldis
Did you miss the part yesterday where she was trying to pull the door open?
Ragnal
Listen, it’s been TWO DAYS since she locked herself in, SOMEONE was bound to show concern!
Yotomoe
Yeah but why would she be calling her name unless she wanted to help her…or was about to beat her like a bongo drum. Not that the latter is UNLIKELY for Billie…
Hermitix
I will pay for this to be drawn.
qka
BAD IDEA Billie!!!
Fire alarms are for fires. Pulling one when there is no fire can get you in legal trouble (fines, jail). If a firefighter or anyone else gets injured while responding to your false alarm, you will be charged with assault, or, god forbid someone dies, manslaughter. Seriously.
Not to mention the rough justice that other dorm residents may decide to inflict after you inconvenience them.
— a firefighter
Kernanator
I’ve always been of the opinion that people that pull the fire alarm when there is no emergency should be punched on sight.
Thor
To be fair, Billie strongly suspects that there is an emergency.
marr
She could light that alcohol on fire ,then pull it.
JepMZ
Ruth would explode! D:
AgentKeen
Even Billie might explode, her blood has probably been replaced with ethanol at this point.
Toad
As someone who lives in a dorm… it’s no inconvenience at all. We all just ignore the fire alarms at this point.
Scott
As someone who also lives in a dorm, I can tell you that not all fire alarms are created equal. Ours can’t be ignored. There’s the klaxon and the blinding flashing lights to contend with. And if you don’t get out in time and it’s a drill they do it again. -__-
Kevin
To be clear, they were setting off the automated fire alarm by filling the kitchen with smoke from their burnt food and triggering the smoke detectors, not pulling a manual alarm.
Kevin
I completely replied to the wrong post with my follow up post. I am shamed.
Pat
And that’s why the university I went to is crazy about fire safety. Because a few years prior to that a dorm burned down and not everybody bothered to leave. There was a scholarship named after an RA who died when she went back into the building to pound on doors to inform people that it was a legitimate emergency.
Kevin
Fall quarter last year my roommates set off the fire alarm while cooking *four times* in one quarter. Remember that one quarter is eleven weeks. They also managed to do it *after midnight* all four times, always because one of them was trying to play a videogame while cooking.
By the fourth time (during finals week naturally) all I did was open the door to give them an evil glare, then curled up in bed and waited out the mandatory 30-minute period before the 140-decibel alarm can be turned off with a pillow over my ears.
Naturally I ratted them to the housing administration, cuz, yeah… four times in eleven weeks….
Icalasari
I think in this case, she’d get away with a warning and stern talking to that, next time, she should call the local police department or 911 if she suspects someone is in danger instead of pulling the fire alarm
Fairly certain there are clauses for when somebody panics and does something stupid (ie pulls the fire alarm) in a potentially emergency situation
Rowen Morland
Well, she is worried about someone dying and college dorms have a ridiculous number of fire drills anyway.
Morgauxo
Why would you get injured responding to a non-fire? Not that I am condoning prank fire-alarm pulls…
qka
When responding to a fire alarm, firefighters will treat it as a real emergency, going lights and sirens. Lights and sirens make other drivers do stupid things that can cause accidents. Also a significant number of firefighters get involved in accidents.
In the US, roughly 100 firefighters die each year in line of duty deaths, that is to say they die doing their job. IIRC, about 20% of those deaths are vehicle accident related. Off the top of my head I don’t have any statistics on non-fatal injuries.
Do you want to be the cause of someone else being injured or killed?
— a firefighter
Do you want
qka
I should add that my department responds to a college. This is a real sensitive issue with me, given the real-world cluelessness of college students.
Andy
So, what’s worse? Being called in for a prank fire alarm, or because some idiot burned their dinner in the dorm kitchen?
Li
Both suck, but obviously the prank is worse. One is an accident, and even if the person involved should have known better, that person is obviously less of a pile of ignorant selfishness than the jerk who pulled the fire alarm for funsies.
Kevin
What if they burn their dinner four times in one quarter?
…I am bitter.
Heavyoak
yea….. people are stupid.
xain
it’s just asking to be pulled
HK-A6A7
Do it… Do it! DO IT!
Wonder Wig
Pulling the fire alarm for love.
Yotomoe
Someone needs to douse the burning hot passion Billie feels for Ruth.
Plasma Mongoose
and the best way for Billie to douse that is with some powerful booze.
Yotomoe
Do not ever use booze to douse a burning hot anything.
timemonkey
It’s a waste of good booze. Pour something expendable, like blood or tears.
Skull025
I prefer to pour out small children to douse fires.
Narf
Also, booze is flammable… 😛
Aizat
Yes because people wanted to break into Ruthless’s room. Damn it, Mary.
Yotomoe
Well I mean…they might. She’s probably got cool RA swag. Plus Billie totally DID sneak into Ruth’s room once.
Plasma Mongoose
and hijinx ensues…
Yotomoe
Mary is like, female mike only she doesn’t realize that she always shows up when she’s least wanted.
Plasma Mongoose
Which must be almost all the time.
Yotomoe
The exception being when Billie snuck in and she wasn’t dressed yet. As perverted as that sounds, that honestly is the one scene I’ve seen with Mary where she doesn’t get on my nerves.
marr
I think she should wait for Mary to go into the bathroom, then pull it.
SUGauthor
At what point has she ever been wanted?
Anniezard
Somebody pulling the Read dorm’s fire alarm when there’s not actually a fire???? Well, gosh oh golly, is it Thursday again already?
David
It’s so much more special when it happens during finals week at 2am.
AgentKeen
See at least at my school it was just a victim-less finals crime, like streaking with a bag on your head.
Kernanator
Willis, are you me from the future? Or an alternate universe? Or is there some sort of hive mind that college idiots tap into?
Because I swear, something almost exactly like that happened in my dorm, last quarter.
As in winter.
marr
It happens in military training dorms too. for every dumb excuse. luckily for me, most of the time it was done when the bar on base was still open and I was legal to drink. So, I would just walk the half block from the dorm to the bar and wait out the alarm.
Groove
When I was at university it was more often than not an automated activation. In my first year we had heat sensors in the kitchens rather than smoke, and during freshers week some company gave out popcorn makers as a promotion. Naturally, the operating temperature of the popcorn maker was enough to set the heat sensor off, given that the only free space in the kitchen was the table under the sensor. It didn’t help that people got drunk, forgot this fact, and did it over and over again.
When I returned to halls in a later year I had a ground floor dorm, so I kept 2-4 beers and a bottle opener by my window. Standard practice during an alarm was my friend across the hall would come over, we’d climb out my window, into the field on the opposite side of the building from the designated point, then drink in the sun until the alarm passed.
Toad
Do people at other colleges actually leave when the fire alarm goes off? We usually just assume some idiot hot-boxed their room and go back to studying.
Pat
That sounds illegal.
As well as life-threatening, but that probably goes without saying.
Toad
What sounds illegal? Not leaving? Pretty sure you’re legally allowed to burn to death if you so choose…
Or did you mean the hot-boxing? ‘Cause yeah, but when has that ever stopped college students from getting their high on?
Narf
Yeah, why wouldn’t you legally be allowed to stay inside a burning dorm, thus requiring firefighters to risk THEIR lives to run into a blazing inferno to carry your dumb ass out of it? Makes perfect sense to me!
Wait a second…
Toad
Hmm, you make a good point; hadn’t thought about that. Still, is it actually illegal to not leave a building when the fire alarm’s been pulled, or is it just a Really Bad Idea?
Lis
at my school you could get fined in the traditional dorms. Note there were people who wouldn’t leave but I was always sure that if it wasn’t a fire they would check my dorm so I would get up. I even considered hiding in a closet once but that was at 3 in the morning so my mind was on why I wasn’t sleeping right now. I lived on the top floor too which was hell to walk at the wee hours of most alarms. In the suite style dorms it was more fluid since most fire alarms were from people making bacon (no really every alarm that went off at least in our room was from bacon not burning just cooking) they would just call up to your room to check what is going on
Pat
In a public building… not sure. I think so, but now you’ve made me doubt myself.
In a dorm, it’s almost certainly very against the rules. Technically “illegal” but not what most people use the term to mean. I know they checked the rooms after the alarm went of in the dorms at my university.
Luzahn
Dammit Mary, you are the worst. All of this, I will now blame you.
Yotomoe
And now you’re her.
Aizat
No Luzahn, you are the zombie.
Luzahn
I’m sure Mary hates herself deep down, too.
…Ah dammit, now I’m made myself sad.
piemanpie24
I think we can all see where this is going… Billie is obviously going to climb through the air ducts.
Plasma Mongoose
She will need to lose the Freshman 15 first.
Yotomoe
In addition to the Freshman 30 she gained prior.
Totz the Plaid
She should NEVER lose that weight!
timemonkey
In a few years Billie will merely be represented by a ball with human features. Everyone will act like it’s completely normal.
Totz the Plaid
Nah, Billie’s nowhere near ovoid in shape, just pleasantly plump! VERY pleasantly!
timemonkey
Not right now she’s not, but in time.
timemonkey
If she learns them well it could save her life when the dorm is over run by parasitic aliens and she needs to survive until the space marines get there.
Aras Pabedinskas
Well that would wake her up if she was passed out, and she would also probably have to take some sort of role call outside so if she doesn’t show, Billie might screw her over.
Why do I choose to phrase it like that in this chat?
AgentKeen
Tempting fate?
Neospector
I smell foreshadowing.
It smells a lot like Petrichor.
Juliecat