Steam pipe burst fills Teter with white smoke

A burst pipe filled Teter Quad's Boisen wing with thick steam about 10 p.m. Thursday evening. The broken pipe sent billowing steam dozens of feet into the air with an audible hiss. Students were forced to evacuate the Boisen wing of Teter and were not allowed back into their rooms as of press time. \nAlthough the burst pipe didn't cause any flooding, there will be some water damage to the building because of steam condensation, said William Hendrix, a heating mechanic for IU Physical Plant's night operations. He said the pipe likely broke because the steam pressure was too high for the equipment. The pipe spewed so much steam that maintenance crews had to wait to turn the steam off from the outside before entering the building, he said.\n"The steam is so thick that if you tried to go in, it would get in your lungs and smother you," Hendrix said.\nFreshman Lucas Steijn said he was in his room on the ground floor of Teter-Boisen when the pipe burst. \n"It sounded like someone was vacuuming the hallway," he said. He said he didn't know to evacuate until someone text-messaged him.