Sprinkler goes off in Watterson, damages rooms

The sprinkler system was activated Tuesday in an 11th floor room in Watterson Towers.

The sprinkler activated the fire alarm, which meant evacuating the residence hall.

The system functioned the way it was supposed to function, Maureen Blair, Director of University Housing Services, explained.

When the sprinkler goes off, it assumes its going off to suppress a fire, and so even though that wasnt the case, the fire alarm went [off].

The Normal Fire Department arrived to investigate the area and ascertained that there was no fire or fire damage.

[After it was confirmed that there was no fire], there were staff that came in who are trained to turn off the sprinkler system, Blair explained.

The sprinkler flooded the room and the water spread to the neighboring room, then leaked into several rooms below it on the 10th floor.

[The sprinkler] is assuming its trying to suppress a fire in a student room, so it dumps a lot of water, Blair said.

All that water finds a place to go, so it traveled to the floors below, and it also spread along the floor.

An investigation is currently ongoing as to how the sprinkler head was activated.

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Sprinkler goes off in Watterson, damages rooms