Orange Hall dorms, ballrooms flood after sprinkler malfunction
A sprinkler malfunction in Orange Hall flooded some student dorm rooms, causing residents to evacuate the building Monday. The Syracuse Fire Department, SU Fire and Life Safety and Department of Public Safety responded to the scene within minutes. Charlie Hynes | Staff Photographer
Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox.
Subscribe to our newsletter here.
A sprinkler malfunction in Syracuse University’s Orange Hall flooded several student dorm rooms, causing residents to evacuate the building Monday evening.
Around 5:45 p.m., a sprinkler in a third-floor room was accidentally triggered, per SU Fire Safety Inspector Adam Cox.
The malfunction activated the building’s fire alarm, where SU Fire and Life Safety, the Department of Public Safety and the Syracuse Fire Department arrived at the flooded dorm rooms within minutes, Cox said.
“The cause of the sprinkler activation has not yet been determined,” Fire and Life Safety Supervisor Matt Speach wrote in a Monday statement to The Daily Orange. “A potential contributing factor may have been frozen piping conditions, and further evaluation is ongoing.”
The malfunction came the same day SU’s in-person classes were canceled for the sixth time in its history. After a winter storm brought nearly 8 inches of snow to Syracuse on Sunday, Monday saw low temperatures of 7 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.
Sophomore Conor Sims said he was playing video games when the sprinkler went off in his room, leaving his entire dorm and personal belongings covered in water.
“We don’t own anything,” said Ben Voelke, Sims’ roommate. “There’s nothing to my name except for this jacket, my wallet and my phone.”
Students said SU Fire and Safety personnel at the scene told them SU would cover damaged belongings.
Several other rooms were flooded, but residents said the extent of the damage in those dorms was limited because the water only reached items on the floor.
Laura Lemgruber | Asst. Copy Editor
SU Fire and Life Safety personnel inspect the flooded rooms. Several students’ belongings and furniture were damaged, and some had to relocate for the night.
Third-floor residents gathered in the hallway once they were allowed back into the building and reported noticing a lingering gas smell. The origin of the smell was from oil buildup in the sprinkler, according to SU Fire and Safety, and is not harmful to breathe.
Students whose dorms were not flooded were able to return to their rooms. Resident Darby Infeld said SU Fire and Safety told impacted residents the university might be able to find temporary housing for affected residents.
Infeld, whose room was also flooded, said she planned on going to a friend’s house or booking a hotel room. She said she wasn’t sure if the university would be able to provide temporary housing as other open rooms in Orange were also flooded.
Sims said he was told SU was working to find students temporary housing and that students might be able to return to their rooms within a week at the earliest.
This story is developing and will be updated with further reporting.
