The Charleston Fire Department and University Police Department responded to the activated alarm at about 2 p.m. Saturday in the Physical Science Building.

David Viertel, a geography professor, was sitting in his office preparing the syllabus for Monday’s classes when the fire alarm went off.

Viertel said he had no idea what was going on; he grabbed his backup hard drive and left.

Officer Kent Jones of the University Police Department said the reason for the alarm was possibly due to the humidity and the electricians were on their way to fix the issue.

“We’ve had the same problem in Doudna,” he said. “But not with fire alarms.”

A trouble alarm, which is an alarm panel and notifies the police of a general emergency,was also activated.

Blake Graven, the Charleston fire captain, was able to back up Jones’ statement saying the electricians who work on the problem have found it to be a weather-related issue.

Graven also said alarms in other building have also been going off lately.

      Roberto Hodge can be reached at 581-2812 or rlhodge@eiu.edu