A fire sprinkler on the 9th floor of Austin Hall was broken on Thursday, September 10 at approximately 6:30 p.m., causing flooding to the top three floors and water damage throughout the entire dorm. Water leaked from the 9th floor into the staircase, causing the ceiling tiles of the Austin Hall lobby to partially collapse.
Students were evacuated immediately and waited until approximately 9:30 p.m. outside of the dorm before being allowed back inside.
According to eyewitness reports two ninth floor residents had been kicking a ball in the hallway which hit the sprinkler head, initiating the flooding.
A cleaning crew is currently vacuuming up water and students have had fans placed in their rooms.
“The nasty water is all over our rooms,” Chelsea Ramsey, a 9th floor freshman resident stated. “Everything that was on the floor is wet. Bins, clothes, my speaker.”
Ramsey also reported that the carpets of the ninth floor corner room are entirely soaked through.
All Austin Hall residents have been told that it is safe to sleep in their rooms despite any water damage caused by the incident.
“There’s people leaving,” stated an Austin Hall resident who wished to be unnamed. “The 8th floor got hit the worst. Water was coming from the ceilings.”
“These rooms are drenched. Kids have water damage to everything- their laptops, their tvs. Kids are sleeping in filth.”
Updates of flood coverage will continue at http://theminaretonline.com
