by Kris Fronzak, News Editor
Residents of Luce Hall were rudely awakened on Saturday morning when a pipeline burst in the French Suite, spewing water from multiple toilets. The flooding rapidly spread from the third floor to the basement, forcing residents to evacuate with their belongings.
“Ceiling tiles were falling out, it was pouring down the walls … There was an inch of standing water over the carpet,” said Kailey Schwallie ’13, a resident of the hard-hit French Suite.
Students and officers from Security and Protective Service alike came to Luce to assist in the evacuation. Many students’ belongings were damaged in the process ó one resident’s laptop was completely waterlogged.
The College responded to the crisis by providing free board and snacks to the evacuees, who have been living at the nearby Days Inn. A shuttle service has also been implemented to ferry students to and from the college campus. Students have also been given access to the utility washing and drying machines in the kitchen of Kittredge to clean their damaged belongings. Some professors have even set up donation boxes to collect shampoos and other necessities.
The majority of the evacuees have returned to their restored dormitory rooms; however, residents of the French Suite, where the original flooding occurred, will live in hotels for the remainder of the semester.
“It’s odd because you don’t have a home,” Schwallie commented. “It’s definitely been an experience.”
(Video courtesy of Emily Linville ’12)