As a general rule,
fire alarms not linked to a
fire drill will always be when it is least inconvienient for everyone around, and at least twice as inconvienient when you live in
residence halls or
dormitories on the campus of
your University of choice.
Continuing with the sweeping generalizations, when fire alarms go off, you will either be
studying for a test,
sleeping,
going to sleep,
watching a movie with your significant other, or
just getting up. In the rare circumstances when the alarms don't inconvienience you immediately, you will invariably be forced to stay outside for
half an hour in weather that is at least ten degrees
below freezing with
gusts of wind at and above thirty miles per hour. Sometimes, you get both- depends on how much
karma you've been saving up.
Most fire alarms are triggered by the same people- those individuals who
smoke in a non-smoking section, and people who are making
microwave popcorn under the influence of
booze,
weed,
pr0n, or
anime. Surprisingly enough, when the trigger can be traced, he/she in the future refrains from doing something stupid that would force everyone from their comfortable rooms. Maybe it's the
duct tape that their door gets plastered with. I dunno.