STUDENTS at La Trobe University's Bendigo campus have joined the National Red Balloon Day campaign to say thank you to the CFA members who regularly attend the university's residences.
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La Trobe accommodation services team leader Meg Driscoll said false alarms were a regular occurrence on campus and firefighters always responded promptly and professionally.
"They're so quick to come here regardless of the fact that they may have just come here half an hour earlier," she said.
"We want to show our appreciation for the fact that we have that security of them being there at the drop of a hat whenever the alarms go off.
"A lot of the students go home over the weekend so we've made it a little bit earlier to raise awareness of these people in our community."
Ms Driscoll said firefighters had been called to the residences 35 times last year, all false alarms.
"It's a fine balance between having alarm systems that are sensitive enough to pick up any concerns so our residents can get out safely, but not too sensitive," she said.
We have that security of them being there at the drop of a hat.
- Meg Driscoll
"Sometimes they might pick up hair straighteners or hair dryers and fake tan and we have to train our students not to use those in their rooms to reduce the false alarms because the last thing we want to do is bring them out here unnecessarily when they could be needed for a genuine emergency somewhere else.
"There are definitely more at the start of the university year when people don't realise that we mean it when we say that the alarm systems are sensitive."
Ms Driscoll said the university had a very positive relationship with the CFA.
"We have had two really great days where we've worked with the CFA plus with police and the ambulance and had mock incidents and we've worked collectively with the university and the emergency services to respond and to practice the emergency response collectively," she said.
"The CFA work with a great deal of understanding and support for the university and in particular the residents."