Contractors assessed water damage to the north Living Learning Center residence hall Thursday following a fire sprinkler burst Wednesday night that covered a hallway with up to 1 inch of water and displaced more than a dozen students.
Monetary damages caused by the broken sprinkler, which eyewitnesses said exploded when a resident hit it with a football, remained unclear Thursday, officials said, but water damaged textbooks and other student belongings on the second and third floors.
Some rooms are more badly damaged and may take as much as one week to repair, according to a Thursday e-mail to residents from Sandy Schoonover, director of Residence Life.
The University has not released the name of the suspect, but the Department of Public Safety has completed its investigation and is working with administrators to decide whether to pursue criminal charges, said DPS Director Tom Hicks.
The resident might face criminal mischief charges for destruction of property, he said.
The University is continuing its investigation, said Michael Eyster, Housing director and interim vice president of Student Affairs.
A fire official estimated that the sprinkler, which ran for about 15 minutes, could have dumped roughly 225 gallons on the third floor, some of which seeped into second-floor rooms below onto beds and other student property.
University Housing officials instructed at least 16 residents to spend the night elsewhere and provided bunks in vacant residence hall rooms for those who could not find shelter with friends, Eyster said. About 10 other students were given the option to stay or relocate, he said.
Students should check their personal insurance policies to determine if they cover water damage, Eyster said.
“You may be covered by a renter’s policy or you may be covered through your parents’ homeowner’s insurance,” Schooner wrote in the e-mail. “Often times, renter’s insurance or homeowner’s insurance companies are able to issue (debit cards) on the same day or next day to cover immediate costs.”
University Housing has arranged with the University Bookstore to give affected students vouchers to replace textbooks and school supplies immediately.
“Anything that was on the floor got wet in some of those rooms,” Eyster said. “And some items were on the floor.”
Affected students may present their ID cards at the LLC to receive $10 University laundry cards to wash clothes soaked in the flood, according to Schoonover’s e-mail.
Workers used more than a dozen dehumidifiers and several large fans in attempts to dry the building Thursday. They also removed about six inches of sheet rock from the walls on both sides of the affected third-floor hallway to assess the moisture of the insulation, a resident said.
“There’s been a very concerted and aggressive effort to get the water up and now to dry everything out,” said Kay Coots, Environmental Health & Safety director.
While repairs continue, students must present University ID to enter their rooms in the affected area, according to the e-mail.
Hall resident Anna Kaetzel said only three or four rooms in the section of the hallway where the sprinkler burst were spared, including hers.
“I just want to say, we’re lucky,” she said. “I can see a little spot where water would have gotten in just barely past the door.”
Repairs are progressing well, Coots said.
“It’s very sad that this was a brand new building, but at the same time it means we have some paint and other things left over” from construction, Coots said.
Saturday’s grand opening of the LLC, scheduled to run 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, will continue as scheduled, Eyster said.
A housing representative will be in a conference room near the DUX Bistro in the south LLC building from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday to help residents prepare lists of damaged items, the e-mail said.
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