This past week, Cary Hall on Freshman Hill suffered flooding, caused by a burst pipe in a second floor men’s bathroom. The flooding, according to Director of Environmental and Site Services Jerry Faiola, “caused a tremendous amount of water damage estimated between $20,000 and $40,000.”
The flooding initiated at a second floor men’s bathroom urinal due to a broken three-quarter-inch copper water line. The water was rapidly discharged at an estimated pressure of 80 psi. Video footage of the burst pipe can be found on YouTube by searching “RPI–Cary Hall Flood.” The water ran for about 30 minutes until it was shut off by Environmental and Site Services.
“There was a substantial volume of water in the hallways on the first and second floors and in many student rooms,” recounted Faiola. Students were quick to stop the water from entering their rooms by using everything from towels to sweatshirts. “A lot of the water made its way down the hallway and down the stairs into the mechanical room where [there are] floor drains,” described Faiola.
The building itself did not sustain any structural damage or system damage other than to the fire alarm system, which was repaired immediately after the water was controlled. Public Safety was called to maintain building security and keep a fire watch until the alarm system was repaired around 10 pm.
The staff of Environmental and Site Services was responsible for the initial cleanup process. However, too many areas were affected for this staff to manage. For this reason, Quick Response, an outside contractor responsible for flood repair, was called in.
Those students affected by the flooding were given the option to sleep in Franklin Hotel and Suites, located in downtown Troy, or were permitted to bunk with a friend in another residence hall. Only six students chose to stay at the Franklin and were shuttled to and from the hotel. “All students were asked to stay out of their rooms until the rooms were significantly dried out,” explained Faiola. “There were two days when I couldn’t stay in my room … I could go in and out to get stuff though,” said Bill Carter ’11. Students were permitted to enter the building to retrieve their belongings and valuables throughout the cleaning process.
The cleanup process required the use of an upwards of 120 pieces of equipment including floor fans, dehumidifiers, and extractors. In addition, all of the carpets were treated with an anti-mold and mildew agent. By April 11, about 95 percent of students were back in their rooms.
All of the departments involved followed procedure excellently and showed great leadership, noted Faiola. Carter reinforced this, saying, “Once (the Residence Life staff) found out about the flood they started getting everyone organized.”
