Left to right: Nate Gallagher, Gabe Beckwith, and Storm Drexler were trapped in a WRFH recording studio. Courtesy | Gabe Beckwith

The Hillsdale Fire Department rescued three students locked in a recording studio at the Radio Free Hillsdale WRFH station on the night of Feb. 14. 

That night, sophomores Storm Drexler and Nate Gallagher welcomed sophomore Gabe Beckwith onto their podcast “Boys Only.” 

“Quick adventure – 20 minutes tops. Light work,” Drexler said he told Beckwith before the podcast. 

But it took campus security, maintenance, and the Hillsdale Fire Department three hours to rescue Beckwith, Drexler, and Gallagher. 

According to Drexler and Gallagher, the door to the recording room was always difficult to open and close. Gallagher said when they finished recording after about 25 minutes, they weren’t too concerned that the door wouldn’t open with the first try. 

“My initial thought was, ‘Uh-oh, the door is stuck,’ because this door was classically hard to close and open,” Gallagher said. 

 Beckwith said after a few shakes of the metal doorknob, they realized they were stuck, and with no one outside, there would be no way to get out. 

“Sometimes it doesn’t catch the first time. It didn’t catch the fifth time,” Beckwith said. “It was obviously broken, and we soon realized that the pin was not responding to the door. It was jammed into the door frame and even a little bit bent.”

At the realization that they were stuck and going to miss their Valentine’s Day dates, Beckwith said he immediately called campus security to help them, not accepting the fact that he might miss the premiere of the Film and Production Club’s short film “Shall We” with his girlfriend.

“My girlfriend was stranded, so I called dispatch,” Beckwith said. “I work with security and it was two officers I know, and I asked them, ‘Would you be willing to come rescue us, see if you can get the door open?’” 

According to Scot Bertram, general manager of Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM and director of the Hillsdale College Podcast Network, this was the first time anyone has been stuck in the recording room. 

“They handled things the right way by calling security and getting people involved who could help them get out of the room,” Bertram said. “I do wonder if they had considered climbing up through the ceiling. I’m glad that they didn’t do that.” 

Drexler said he did try to get out of the room through the ceiling.

“I looked at all four corners and quickly discerned that concrete goes up half a foot and across, covering everything in all ways,” Drexler said. 

According to Beckwith, after 30 minutes of security and maintenance trying to help, the Hillsdale Fire Department came and eventually managed to open the door.

“We had the Hillsdale Fire Department large engine show up and they were there with their equipment to disassemble the door piece by piece,” Beckwith said.

According to Drexler and Beckwith, there was nothing except a pen in the room that would help them open or dismantle the door. Beckwith said he managed to help a little from the inside. 

“I was able to take off the cover for our doorknob and try to take it apart,” he said. 

Gallagher said he realized the recording was still going, so the group decided to record an extra segment of their podcast since they had nothing better to do.

Beckwith said it was good that they accepted what had happened and made the most of it. 

“It was one of those stoic moments where there’s nothing I can do to get myself outside of the room, and so we’re just going to make the most of it, and this will at least be an exciting story to tell friends,” Beckwith said.

According to Bertram, once the men got out of the room, the bottom of the door was cut down and the doorknob was completely taken out as a precaution for future recording. Bertram said the door can now open and close but not latch shut. A new door handle is on its way.  

“The studio is still usable,” Bertram said. “It didn’t slow us down in any way.”

While the situation threw a wrench in Beckwith’s Valentine’s Day plans, he said his experience as a guest on the podcast was enjoyable.

“Of all the things to be stuck doing, being on a podcast with Nate and Storm was fun, and I was able to get right back into it, and it was enjoyable to record more,” Beckwith said.

Drexler and Gallagher said they will continue to have guests on their show. According to Drexler, they have increased their show’s run time to about 40 minutes, for after having been stuck together for three hours, they realized that they have more to say. 

“We learned that we have more in us,” Drexler said. “We can go further, talk about more, and keep the conversation flowing naturally which is a lot of fun.” 

To those who have never been in a stuck situation before, Gallagher recommends that they relax and enjoy their time. 

“Don’t panic; stop, drop, and roll; get sturdy; lock in; and listen to Boys Only,” Gallagher said.