Sprinklers malfunction for third time in Oaks

photo by Manuel Hernandez

Roommates Lindsy Roselanf and Stacy Corso are relocating to another room after a downpour from the fire sprinklers in the D Building of the Oaks. Roselanf and Corso said this incident put a damper on their studies and set them back in other school projects. This is the third fire sprinkler mishap in the Oaks this year.

by Ryan MacDonald
Editor in Chief

Another faulty sprinkler head caused thousands of dollars worth of damage Sunday night when it went off in the Oaks D Buildling in room 203, causing flooding throughout the top and bottom floors of the building.

Sunday marks the third time this school year that a sprinkler in a University of La Verne dorm room has malfunctioned. This time the incident forced numerous students to move out of their rooms indefinitely.

Some moved to other dormitories because the conditions inside of their rooms were no longer suitable for living, said Julie Hurst, acting director of Housing and Residential Life.

The sprinkler head began spraying water at roughly 1 a.m. and continued to spew for 15 minutes until the La Verne Fire Department arrived with proper tools to shut it off, Hurst said. Students notified Campus Safety initially after an alarm started going off, she added.

The sprinkler heads are designed to put out fires, so when they are activated, water continues to spray until they are turned off, Hurst said.

Shortly after the incident, students grabbed what they could and got out of the way.

The damage occurred in rooms D 203 and 103. The hallways and bathrooms also had some water damage.

It was apparently a different problem from what occurred in the F building earlier this year, said Brian Worley, director of facilities and management.

RAs and PAs immediately addressed student concerns. Those affected by the incident was immediately relocated to their choice of dormitories.

"We wanted to make sure people were comfortable," Hurst said.

Hurst said that fourteen students in eight different rooms were affected by the sprinkler incident.

Property damages ranged from clothing to computers to TVs to CD players.

Hurst said a water restoration team has cleaned the damaged areas with vacuums. They treated the carpets so further damages, such as mildew and carpet germs, would not develop, she said.

Students were told to bring their damaged items to the housing office immediately.

Any clothing should have been bagged up and salvaged, Hurst said. Electrical equipment, such as computers or TVs, were given to risk management to determine if it was salvageable.

"This (sprinkler) was struck. I can't say whom, how or when. But it was tampered with," Worley said.

But students who live in the rooms witnessed a different story. Channon Cook, a sophomore liberal studies major, lives in room D-203 and said the sprinkler system is what is to blame for the incident.

Cook said there was no tampering of the sprinkler system.

The residents had their beds lofted, and one of them was under the head of the sprinkler, but Cook said nothing was accidentally tapped or hit.

Still, Cook and her roommates have moved out of the dorms and do not know when they will return.

"I will get reimbursed for the time I'm not living there," Cook said. "But maintenance has taken my stuff and hasn't said anything about replacing it."