Sprinklers flooded the sixth floor of Bromley Hall yesterday afternoon, displacing four students after a fire in one of the rooms triggered the system.
The Athens Fire Department responded to an alarm yesterday at Bromley Hall, 35 S. Congress St., after a piece of clothing fell on a heat lamp, causing a fire. The lamp was in a closet and placed over a terrarium housing a gecko, said Capt. Brian Muhn of the Athens Fire Department. The fire was contained to the sixth-floor room and was extinguished by the residence hall's sprinkler system.
It was absolutely wonderful the sprinkler systems went off
said Lt. Steve Noftz, the first Ohio University police officer to arrive at the scene. You have to think of what it could have been without the sprinkler.
The gecko did not survive. Non-aquatic pets, including geckos, are not permitted in residence halls. Judy Piercy, director of Residence Life, said she did not know if the students whose room housed the gecko would face disciplinary action.
Rooms on the sixth floor were flooded by the sprinkler system and some water soaked through all the way to the basement, but students could return to the building within an hour. No injuries were reported, and the total cost of damages is still unknown, Piercy said.
Students will not be reimbursed for damaged property because the university was not responsible and the university's property insurance covers only buildings and business equipment, said David Hopka, assistant vice president for Safety and Risk Management.
The residents of the room that caught fire and the two students sharing an adjacent bathroom with them have been moved to other rooms in Bromley. They will be displaced for an indefinite amount of time, Piercy said, adding that they could not return to the room until the sprinkler system and fire alarm had been replaced.
Students on the sixth floor have really been wonderful Piercy said. They're affected by it but they're real troopers.
The room will require numerous renovations, including a new mattress, before it will be livable, Muhn said.
We left because of a fire drill and when we got back the room was flooded
said sophomore Abbey Suttman who lives across the hall. Suttman said most of the items that were left on the floor were damaged such as the carpet and there was an inch of standing water in the room.
Dani Bernat, a sophomore who lives down the hall wasn't as lucky. She said her laptop charger, scarf and shoes, along with most of her clothes, were soaked.
I was on the verge of tears thinking of all the stuff I have to do to rectify this situation
Bernat said. There is no good place to start.
Bernat said there is at least upward of $1,000 worth of damage to her personal belongings and added that she wasn't pleased with the response of Residence Life.
You have to find someone to get information. There should be an easier way to get information
Bernat said, Until I see a response on getting reimbursed
I won't have a great outlook on what they (Residence Life) are doing.
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