Faulty sprinklers drench Oaks

by Dimitri Watson
Staff Writer

How safe are the dorms on campus? A quick jog through some of the dorms reveal that half the rooms have their doors propped open. Yes, students are inside the rooms, but some frequently leave for a short time without locking their doors.

"Thefts have not been a problem in the dorms this semester," said John Lentz, director of campus safety and transportation. "People are either starting to secure their property better."

But there have been other problems. Recently a malfunctioning sprinkler went off in one of the rooms of the F building in the Oaks-for the second time this year.

"I was in the shower and my roommate, Matt, had just left to get something," said Adam Khawaja who was surprised by the mishap. "Within about 10 seconds after he left, water was gushing out of the sprinkler in the room."

Kevin Travler, a friend of Khawaja's, was the first to notice the sprinkler was going off.

"I walked in the room to borrow a pair of pants and ended up soaked. So I let Khawaja know his room was being drenched," Travler said.

Neither Khawaja nor his roommate, Matt Sibert, were able to save many of their possessions. The water just started soaking everything, and filling up the room with about three to four inches of water. Water began to flow out of the room into neighboring rooms also filling up half the lounge area with water.

"Campus Safety showed up and could basically do nothing but identify the obvious problem, and transfer the information to the fire department," Khawaja said. It took the fire department 15 minutes to arrive on the scene and roughly 10 minutes to shut the sprinkler off. The water ran for about 27 minutes.

"The University seemed concerned and was willing to help but when it came to getting my damaged stuff back, they made it seem like they weren't responsible and I would have to go through the sprinkler company to be reimbursed for the damages," Khawaja said.

The University eventually took responsibility and promised to help Khawaja and has provided him with a temporary room in B-Top.

Director of Facilities Management Brian Worley said the sprinkler heads were likely faulty and he said the rest of the buildings would be inspected and replace as needed.

"We have to believe this is the case from what the students are saying and from accounts and appearance," Worley said.

"We are working with insurance companies and doing what we can to solve the problem and accommodate the students," he added. "This has only been a problem in the F building, which is only a year old. It is extremely rare for a sprinkler head to fail. I arrived on the scene that night and stayed until midnight."

Still, with such unforeseen safety risks in the dorm rooms, Lentz recommends that students be rigorous about protecting themselves and their property where they can. One way is to keep their doors closed and locked whenever they leave the dorm room.