“All of a sudden I heard a loud bang and then water, so I thought maybe it was my suite mate showering. Then I heard someone swear out in the hall and all of the water started rushing in,” said Chelsea Ramsey, freshman pre-med biology major, was one of the many students who had to evacuate Austin Hall on September 10.
Residents were forced out into Delo Park around 6:30 p.m. because of a sprinkler pipe that burst on the 9th floor. The pipe was under an extreme amount of pressure and spouted enough water to reach the first floor lobby. Two residents accidentally broke the pipe and
are being processed by the UT conduct boards. No ResLife official was able to be contacted about the incident, and the residents responsible wished to not comment at this time.
Only three hours after the pipe burst the 9th floor residents were allowed back into their rooms to spend the night despite soaked carpets, beds, and belongings.
Since the incident happened, crews have been doing everything they can to dry up the water before any permanent damage is done. Crews were working from 9:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. this past weekend, according to an email sent out by Raven Davis, the ResLife coordinator in charge of Austin Hall.
“They’re creating holes in the [hallway] walls to dry out the water, and they vacuumed and sucked up all the water so everything is fine,” said a 9th floor resident who wished to remain anonymous. “They have specific hours they [allow] workers in our hall, but they wake us up. They’re drilling and knocking down the bottom parts of the walls.”
Workers have determined that students living in certain rooms need to be relocated so that further work can be done.
“We will need to relocate you to the Barrymore Hotel (former Howard Johnson Plaza) for one week. Please pack items that you will need for the week and any valuables that you do not want to leave in your Austin room while the repairs are made,” stated an email sent by Davis on Monday Sept. 15. “The scope of work includes cutting into the drywall, setting up fans and blowers to dry out the space, and replacing the insulation and drywall, and finally repainting the walls.”
Students are advised to pack up breakables and take down any posters since workers will be moving furniture to do demolition and repairs. Residents are expected to be moved to the Barrymore Hotel Wednesday, Sept. 17 until the morning of Thursday, Sept. 25. Once students have left their rooms they will not be permitted to reenter without contacting Davis beforehand, according to the email.
“The students who reside on the damaged floors will have the damage to their rooms repaired by the company that is hired by the University to make [them] and bring the spaces back to 100 percent,” said Krystal Schofield, Associate Dean of Residence Life.
The residents who did not receive this email will continue to live in Austin until further notice. If the crews cannot dry up all of the moisture inside the walls the remaining students will have to be moved because of mold and mildew concerns.
Katherine Lavacca can be reached at katherine.lavacca@theminaretonline.com