A sprinkler head near a window on the 11th floor of Morgan Hall North froze and burst around 7:45 p.m. Friday, causing flooding throughout the building that displaced students from the 24 rooms on the floor for the weekend and Monday, leaving some water pooling on lower floors that evening.
A university spokesman told The Temple News that alternative housing was offered for students who needed a new place to go. Information on submitting claims for damaged property was relayed, he said.
A maintenance crew responded on Friday with dehumidifiers and vacuums to handle the water.
When administrators got word of the flood, all resident assistants not on duty were called back to the building and told to examine their floors, said Kelly Buckner, a sophomore biology major who works as a resident assistant on the eighth floor.
“There was at least an inch of water in the lobby and in the laundry room,” Buckner said. “In the room across from mine, there was about an inch of water covering the whole [room] … it was pretty hectic.”
She said she was tasked with checking for damaged property and making sure residents had somewhere to stay.
“I ended up leaving before people started sleeping in the lobby,” Buckner said. “But most people also found places to stay, whether it was in other dorms or in other rooms in the building.”
Residents were told to take pictures of any damaged property, Buckner said.
According to the Office of Housing and Residential Life’s policy, “The University assumes no responsibility for loss or damage to personal property, including theft. It is strongly recommended and encouraged that the student contacts an insurance agent concerning possible protection against such losses or obtain coverage under a family homeowner’s policy.”
Jade London-Johnson, a sophomore English major who lives on the 10th floor of the building, said water came into her room through the air vent on her roommate’s side of the room, but not on hers.
“It was the same way for my suitemate,” she said. “Nothing on my side got wet at all.” Overall, the room “is in good shape,” she said.
Students were advised to wash affected fabrics to avoid issues with mold.
Four elevators were out of service immediately following the incident, but two were brought back later that night. The remaining two in the building were out of service but crews were working to bring them back to operation as of 3:30 p.m. Monday, a spokesman said.
Crews were also working on pipes to prevent future incidents, the spokesman added.
Joe Brandt can be reached at jbrandt@temple.edu or on Twitter @JBrandt_TU
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