Sprinklers flood IMU

Due to an electrical short, the sprinkler system in the Indiana Memorial Union was tripped, sending water pouring into Starbucks, down through the Commons and into Dunn Meadow Cafe.

Once the Bloomington Fire Department turned the sprinklers off, there was approximately two inches of water on each of the three levels and damage to the floors and ceiling tiles in all affected areas said Roy Robertson, the custodial manager of the IMU.

The BFD were not able to turn off the sprinkler system because of a lack of markings and maps to key features to the sprinkler system, according to the BFD’s incident report. The fire department had to wait for maintenance personnel to locate the shut-off valve in the Starbucks’ storage closet.

Robertson said he was called in after the BFD and immediately got to work cleaning up the water along with his staff and other managers.

“We got called in at one in the morning,” Robertson said. “We just picked up some mops and started moving the water out.”

Although Robertson had dealt with water damage on campus before, he was surprised at the extent of the damage.

“There must have been quite the cascade running down the (Dunn Meadow Cafe) stairs,” Robertson said.

The most severe damage occurred at Starbucks, where the sprinklers were hitting surfaces directly.

“Water sprayed up and ruined the tile and bulkhead above the (Starbucks’) counter,” said Bob Payton, the contractor brought in to repair the damage.

Payton also said the cost of the new tile alone was more than $2,000. As he was helping to put up the last ceiling tiles in the Indiana Memorial Union Gallery, he said there was quite a bit of work done in a very short amount of time — several hundred man hours to return things to normal.

Bloomington Fire Department’s incident report also stated that there will be contact between the BFD and the IMU to follow up on marking and sprinkler system issues to ensure that problems have been resolved.