A burst pipe in James Hall caused at least eight rooms to flood throughout the West Green dorm on Wednesday afternoon.
A fire alarm, possibly set off by steam from the pipes, forced James residents outside. When students came back in, water was dripping from some ceilings and flowing into the halls.
The busted pipe was in the wall near Room 343, where Jocelyn Bateman, a sophomore studying communication, lives.
“I opened the door and saw all this water. It’s like an inch of water,” Bateman said. “It’s like a freaking swimming pool. It’s ridiculous.”
James has four floors — three of which had standing water in them on Wednesday.
“We were coming back from the fire drill … and I came up the stairs and I saw Jocelyn standing outside her room, and there was steam coming out of her room,” said Tori Knueven, a sophomore studying journalism and a resident assistant on the third floor of James.
Fortunately for Bateman, none of her possessions were seriously damaged besides being drenched in the murky water. Most students moved their belongings out of their rooms and into the halls while maintenance vacuumed up the water.
“We’re assuming the dirty water pipe broke,” said Tyler Grubb, a facilities worker who was on the scene. “We brought the pump back over and started sucking up the water.”
The water didn’t have a distinct odor. Most of the drenched rooms were vacuumed by about 6 p.m.
Burst pipes usually occur over winter break and are more common in cold weather and in older buildings. James was built in 1963 and houses 365 students.
Before students return from winter break, RAs routinely check rooms for floods caused by burst pipes, Knueven said.
Flooding also occurred Wednesday in the lobby of Shively Hall and the basement of Voigt Hall.
It is unclear if the events are related.
“It happens,” Knueven said. “It’s just the luck of the draw.”
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