Editor's Note: This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
Students living in Letts, Anderson and Centennial Halls were stranded outside their dorms Sunday night for almost three hours after one fire sprinkler on the fourth floor of Anderson activated and flooded some floors of the residence halls.
As of Monday afternoon, Housing and Residence Life relocated 15 students as a precaution, said University Assistant Vice President and Deputy Chief Communications Officer Elizabeth Deal.
Though an “all-clear” email was not sent out, Resident Assistants told students in GroupMe chats that they were allowed back inside a little before 11 p.m., according to messages obtained by The Eagle.
Fire department investigators, who routinely attend incidents involving sprinkler activations, determined Sunday night was an accidental activation with no fire, said Vito Maggiolo, the public information officer for D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services.
The University is now reviewing the cause of the incident, Deal said.
Firefighters were dispatched at 8:10 p.m. and left the scene more than an hour later, at 9:25 p.m., according to PulsePoint, which is connected to the fire department’s dispatch system. A total of 16 fire apparatus responded to the scene, the app said.
The three residence halls are connected and legally considered a single building. Whenever a fire alarm goes off in any of the buildings, all three must be evacuated. They collectively house more than 1,700 students, according to Housing & Residence Life’s website.
Lincoln Smith, a freshman in the School of Communication, lives on Anderson four, where he said the majority of the flooding occurred.
Smith said there should be a general “air of grace” from professors around assignments and extensions following this interruption.
Some freshmen moved to the Mary Graydon Student Center to wait on Sunday night.
“This has affected me very negatively,” said School of Public Affairs first year Evie Todaro. “My phone is at six percent and I don’t have a charger. Honestly, I’m scared.”
Her friend Clare Shacochis, a first year student in the SOC, was also waiting out the evacuation in MGSC and said she was thankful she was safe. They both live on the fourth floor of Letts.
“I hope everyone’s stuff is okay in their room,” Shacochis said. “As annoying as this is, we’re all grateful.”
Ella Altman contributed reporting to this article.
This article was edited by Walker Whalen. Copy editing done by Sabine Kanter-Huchting.
