by Alastair Pearson
Water overflow caused extensive damages to six rooms in Loyola Hall, derailing classes Monday. The rooms affected are expected to reopen tomorrow.
The water damages occurred after a maintenance sink in the third-floor history wing was left running early Sunday afternoon, according to Plant Services Director Peter Hendler.
“It appears to be accidental,” Hendler said. “Sunday evening, one of the maintenance men realized there was a problem while making his rounds.“
Hendler said the water spread through Loyola Hall’s wood floors to six rooms, including Room 325 in the History Department, three classrooms on the south side of the theology wing, and the bookstore and the Dean of Student’s Office in the basement.
He said he had no hard estimate for the cost of the damage caused, but expected the total to be “thousands” of dollars. The school has an ongoing investigation into the cause of the overflow.
“This water issue is due to human error,” Hendler said. “”We just don’t know which humans did it yet.”
Restoration efforts took place while classes were rerouted from damaged rooms Monday, and included biocide and mildicide treatments, as well as vacuuming and dehumidification. Hendler said that the main building ventilation would be run nonstop for the immediate future.
“Our first objective is to immediately dry out the building,” he said. “The second objective is to analyze all the things that need to be done to repair those places.”
All the affected rooms suffered damages to ceiling tiles and drywall. Cabinets and inventory in the bookstore were also impacted. The rooms are expected to be usable beginning Tuesday, although repairs will take weeks.
Bookstore manager Natalie Spearry said that her inventory had been significantly damaged.
“We are laundering what we can and we’ll donate it to the West Side Catholic Center and Labre,” Spearry said. “All the cabinetry in the back of the room was damaged. It’s all going to be ripped out.”
Speary said that the bookstore would resume operations as soon as it was “safe,” noting that the store had been treated for mold and mildew and that changes to the layout could be necessary.
Other casualties of the overflow included the possible loss of the computer in Room 325, and Mr. Hess’s collection of vintage newspapers.
Hendler said that the damage to Loyola Hall was not related to past water issues in the building, which had taken place during storms and had not reoccurred since renovations made during the refurbishment of the school mall in 2011. He said the damage rated among the worst incidents of water destruction he had seen in his career.
“Since I’ve been here, this is one of the top three,” Hendler said.
