By VALERIE METREJEAN and CARSON HUFFSTUTTER

vmm008@latech.edu and ceh017@latech.edu

 

A cracked water pipe in Neilson Residence Hall on Tuesday night resulted in a waterlogged second floor.

“There was a crack in the water pipe in the sprinkler system,” Capt. Raymond Merritt of the Tech Police Department said.

The police department received a call around 10:45 p.m. when the fire alarm went off.

Merritt also said the cause of the burst pipe has not yet been determined.

David Smith, coordinator for student development, said the water damage affected between 30 and 40 dormitory rooms in the residence hall.

“The pipe burst in a dorm room at the west end of the hall,” Smith said. “It affected about half the floor.”

Merritt said for most involved, clean-up was an all-night event.

“The fire department came out, I talked with the fire chief and we did a fire watch,” Merritt said. “I left around 2 a.m. and many [people] were still working.”

Smith said the damage was attended to immediately and about 45 people were there to help clean up.

“The [resident assistant] staff and building services staff were quick to respond and helpful in their assistance,” Smith said.

“By the time residents went back into their rooms, their floor was dry.”

Josh Degges, a freshman mechanical engineering, was in his room on the second floor at the time the pipe burst.

“I heard an alarm go off and went outside,” Degges said.

He said he and a few other residents went to the second-floor parking lot to see what was going on in the lounge area.

“We watched the water come down,” Degges said.

“Some parts looked like a waterfall.”

He also said Neilson residents were sent to Caruthers to wait out the clean-up process.

Second-floor occupants could not return to their rooms until midnight.

Thankfully, Degges said his room was across from the burst pipe and suffered no damage.

Smith said victims of the flooding should document all items damaged from the incident and give the Damage Report List to an RA or the Housing Office, located in Harris Hall.

“We recommend that [students] provide a copy of this sheet to your insurance provider at your earliest convenience,” Smith said.

“As far as liability for the university, none of that has been determined at this time.”

This is the second pipe to burst in recent months with the previous one occurring in the basement of Wyly Tower of Learning, during Hurricane Rita.