Severe flooding damages Quad, forces evacuation

A damaged sprinkler system in the Quadrangle sent water cascading through the Butcher and Speakman dormitories last night, causing thousands of dollars in damage and forcing dozens of angry and upset residents to spend the night elsewhere. University Police, Philadelphia Fire and Physical Plant crews responding to a fire alarm at 7:48 p.m. arrived to find the sprinkler system ruptured on the fourth floor of Butcher dormitory. It was not immediately clear what caused the break, but several residents said last night that the deluge began when an errantly thrown lacrosse ball knocked off a sprinkler head in the hallway. University Police Sergeant Michael Fink said he also had heard that explanation "from a couple people," but added that there was "nothing concrete yet." Officials evacuated both dorms because of the "electrical hazard" and began work to shut the water off, as the sprinkler system continued to shower the fourth floor with warm brown water. Officials said the spray lasted between 15 to 30 minutes before being fixed. By that time, two inches of water had accumulated on the fourth floor and water was streaming down to hallways and rooms on lower floors through walls, ceilings and stairwells. One stairwell in Speakman took on the appearance of a tropical waterfall, as torrents of warm water plummeted through the center of the stairwell and smacked the pavement five stories below. Residents scrambled to stop the approaching water from reaching their rooms by barricading their doorways with towels, sheets and, in some cases, dirty clothes. Most students had little time to react. College freshman Jesse Hergert, who lives on the fourth floor of Butcher, said she was talking on the phone with a friend, when she noticed the approaching water. "There was a river of blackness spewing under my door," she said. Layla Gilbert, a College freshman also living on the floor, thought she had curbed the water's advance by sandbagging her door with towels, only to realize the water had found another way into her room -- seeping through the wall. "I was leaning out the window talking to a friend, thinking I was safe," she said. "Then all of a sudden I was standing in a puddle." Some residents feared leaving their rooms immediately after the break because they could not gauge the temperature of the water flowing into their rooms. Ben Greenstein, a College sophomore who was working at the front desk at the time, said he received calls from several residents who were standing on furniture out of fear that the water in their rooms was scalding hot. One resident on the fourth floor of Butcher, who requested anonymity, said he was trapped in his room for ten or fifteen minutes after a "big stream of water came zooming under the door." Police officers and residential advisors told students on the third and fourth floors of Butcher and Speakman to turn off all electrical appliances before leaving and prevented anyone from returning to those hallways. Many students worried that they might be electrocuted by walking through the water, but police later said it was unnecessary to turn off electricity in the building. "There really wasn't that much of a risk," Fink said. Physical Plant brought in several large wet vacuums to remove the water, but the air in the dorm remained hot, humid and foul smelling even after the cleanup. Many students, some of whom were not at home when the flood occurred, said they were worried that personal property such as computers, rugs and clothing had been soaked. "It looks like Lake Michigan," said fourth floor Butcher Residential Advisor Scott Starks after some of his students asked him to assess the damage in their rooms. There was no official estimate last night of structural damage, but several students estimated property damage would exceed thousands of dollars. Wharton freshman Geoff Lee returned from an evening exam to find his third floor Speakman room "dripping all over" and heard "popping sounds" coming from his stereo. Residential Living officials asked residents of the third and fourth floors to find another place to stay and offered others couches in High Rise East rooms to sleep on for the night. Although the water reached the lower floors of Butcher and Speakman, damage was limited to the third and fourth floors, and most residents of the basement, first and second floors were allowed to return to their rooms once Physical Plant had turned off the water. But many students said since they could not get books and notes from their rooms, the disruption would affect their ability to study for midterms or complete homework due today. College senior Kristin Peszka, a residential advisor on Speakman's fourth floor, sought to reassure frantic students that they would be allowed to make up any missed assignments or reschedule midterms without being penalized. Therese Conn, executive assistant to Vice Provost for University Life Kim Morrisson, said last night that students would probably be able to make arrangements with their professors or school deans. For several hours after the accident, students gathered in the stairwell outside their hallways and commiserated about the damage and inconvenience. Some swore as they sympathized with each other, and at least one student cried. "At least I'm not in Hill [House]," one sophomore said. Residents of upper floors talked about what might have been damaged in their rooms or could not be reached because they were not allowed to return. One student included vodka in the list of items she could not reach. "It's not like I need a drink, but it would be helpful," she said.

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