Fire alarm leaves students in negative-degree temperature

Around 11 p.m. Jan. 15, the pajama-clad residents of Eigenmann Residence Center had to evacuate the building in negative-degree temperatures.

The fire alarm went off after a sprinkler head was completely removed from the 11th-floor men’s restroom, causing areas of the building to flood.

The sprinkler cap was found in the garbage can, which lead police to investigate the incident as an act of vandalism, said Kelly Thacker, Eigenmann residence manager.

“I was trying to figure out how it could have gotten into the trash can,” said freshman and 11th-floor resident Nate Darr. “I was upset and livid when I found out it wasn’t an accident. I just don’t want to think that someone on our floor did it.”

If the situation was a case of vandalism, the guilty party would have to go through the campus judicial system, Thacker said.

The student could also potentially go through the criminal justice system, since tampering with a fire system is a federal offense, Thacker said.

Students are required to leave a building once a fire alarm goes off. If students don’t leave the premise it is considered a federal offense, and it is against the Student Code of Conduct.

Students who remained in the building five to 10 minutes after the fire alarm rang had their student IDs taken away.

The men’s side of the 11th floor suffered from two to three inches of flooding. The water leaked through to the 10th-, ninth- and eighth-floor elevator lobbies.

Eleventh-floor residents had the option of staying in the first-floor east wing rooms or in the fifth- and seventh-floor lounges. Students were provided with pillows, bed linens and blankets.

On Jan. 16, students were officially allowed to return to their rooms around 2 p.m. Prior to this time, students had to be escorted to their rooms by staff if they needed to get clothing, medicine or books for their classes.

From 3 a.m. to 9 a.m., the Eigenmann staff took shifts watching the 11th floor while the rooms were left open to be dried and cleaned. They also bagged students’ clothing to reduce damage.

“The staff worked well together to take care of the residents’ needs,” Thacker said. “The staff was receptive to whatever we needed to do.”

Although the staff worked cohesively, the resident assistants did not know exactly what was going on.

“I wish they would have said that the floor was flooded,” said sophomore Iann Matlock, resident assistant of the 11th floor. “In the end the situation was handled well, but I just wish I knew what happened because it’s my floor and my room is close to the bathroom.”

The resident assistants did various jobs, such as keeping the residents informed, making sure everyone was safe on the stairwells, mopping wet areas, roping off and putting signs on closed-off elevators and putting displaced residents into rooms.

Students, including freshman Justin Loughran, experienced some damage to their material items. Loughran had $600 worth of textbooks damaged by the flooding.
Matlock said he lost a speaker and a receiver of his surround-sound system, which was worth an estimated $450.

Some residents were more fortunate than others.

“I’m happy that all my stuff is OK,” said freshman and 11th-floor resident Dennis Webb. “I’d be pretty mad if all my stuff was damaged.”

Residential Programs and Services does not cover damages from such events. Thacker encourages all students to get renter’s insurance through the Department of Risk Management, because their damaged possessions would be covered up to a certain amount.

Students who know any extra information about the Eigenmann flooding are encouraged to speak to Thacker and Assistant Residence Manager Jon Riveire.