News

Mayhem ensued in the early hours of last Sunday morning as part of George Street was shut down by police when a student party in the Robbie Burns complex was evacuated due to a fire alarm.

The house party was spread across two flats in the upstairs Robbie Burns complex, and reportedly had upwards of 200 people attending, many of whom hadn’t been invited but had gate crashed on their way into town. The party was hosted by Dunedin gig promoters SoundForge.
   Deputy Chief Fire Officer Trevor Tilyard tells Critic that the Fire Service arrived just after 1am on Sunday, and started evacuating the building. 
   However, he says the building was “severely overcrowded,” and that many party-goers were “intoxicated and reluctant to evacuate.” 
   One of the attending fire officers says “In my opinion, had there been an actually fire, evacuation could not have taken place and there would have been loss of life.”
   It took sixteen minutes to clear the apartments completely, after which several police officers arrived to herd the 150-plus crowd down George Street into town. They parked squad cars along George Street while this took place, effectively shutting that section of the street down for approximately half an hour. 
   One of the flat tenants spoke to Critic, saying many people who hadn’t been invited had overcrowded the party. 
   “We invited a few people, some of whom didn’t show up, but a lot of people who we didn’t know turned up … we have a few tips on who pulled the alarm, but they hadn’t been invited.”
   A second alarm at the same complex was pulled at 6am that morning, dragging the Fire Service out once more. It was another false alarm, pulled by people unknown to the tenants. 
   “Three people were seen running out of our complex just after the alarm. One was wearing a uniform from a nearby pub.”
   The tenants now have a $3000 bill because of the two callouts, and are asking people present at the party to help them out. 
   SoundForge are holding a benefit gig after the Kora concert this weekend to help cover the expensive bill.