The college is replacing dry wall, baseboards, ceiling tiles, and carpet in three rooms after the union flooded last week, according to Vice President for Administration Richard Péwé.

Extremely cold temperatures caused a pipe to burst, filling AJ’s Cafe, the formal lounge, and the hallways near the bookstore with a couple inches of water. 

“We will run the fans and monitor daily for any signs of damage, until we are confident all moisture is gone out of the floors of AJ’s,” Péwé said. “We feel good about moisture and air quality.”

During construction, contractors had removed insulation to perform their work, according to Péwé. They ordered supplemental heaters to keep the pipes from freezing, but the heaters did not arrive on time, so the pipes froze when the temperature dropped. Cold air coming down from the tower shaft caused a two-inch fire suppression pipe in the ceiling above the Raese Room to freeze and break.

To stop the union from flooding further, maintenance crews turned off the water supply, Péwé said. The college brought in a professional cleaning company to remove all unseen moisture. 

“At night they have been pushing air into the ceiling between floors to ensure all the moisture has been addressed,” Péwé said. “They have been testing for moisture and air quality along the way.”

Contractors replaced the insulation and repaired the pipes, Péwé said. Contractors also put supplemental heaters and increased the heat in the building to account for the colder weather outside.

After fire alarms sounded in the union at 3:50 p.m. on Jan. 21, students evacuated the building. 

Senior Ashlyn Linton was in orchestra practice when she got an email notifying her that a pipe burst and that Metz would serve dinner in the Searle Center. 

“I think people were actually very excited, because it was something new,” Linton said. “And some people had videos of the union flooding, so everyone crowded around and watched it and had fun.”

Metz served dinner that night and breakfast the following morning in the Searle Center. The dining hall was open by lunchtime on Jan. 22.

“It was usual Saga food, but I really liked this meal,” junior Anne Crites said. “I liked the Mexican rice and chicken, and it was fun to eat with my orchestra friends.”

Vice President for Student Affairs Diane Philipp said the college is grateful for the quick response by the maintenance team, Dow Center, and Metz staff. 

“Everyone came together and began solving the problem immediately,” Philipp said. “We are blessed to work with such dedicated and professional co-workers.” 

Senior Makayla Hanna said she was amazed to see how quickly the college got everything back up and running. 

“I’m sure everyone involved worked really hard that night to solve the problem,” Hanna said.