The Stevenson Housing Office relocated all 90 residents of Stevenson Casa 4 due to flooding on the third floor. The flood occurred at about 12:45 a.m. on Oct. 2 and was caused by a fire sprinkler.
A student sleeping on the top bunk bed bumped the fire sprinkler, triggering it accidentally, said Lina Salam, a Casa 4 residential assistant. The night of the flood, some students slept in the Stevenson Event Center, while others slept in the Stevenson College Library or Recreation Room because those spaces have couches.
“In the future, now that we know that this kind of thing is possible, I think it would [be] better if we found a better solution in terms of housing,” Salam said. She suggested there
should be emergency housing available in case of another incident.
Repair work for Casa 4 is in progress. In an update on the Stevenson Housing website, repairs were estimated to take one to two weeks. However, college administrative officer Carolyn Golz said in an email she is still unsure of when students can return. Meanwhile, students are scattered across campus until construction is complete.
“Due to our housing shortage, we did have to convert the Cowell lounges (which had not previously been converted because they house the IT closets),” Golz said in an email. “We have placed 6 to 8 students in these lounges. The remaining students were able to be housed in a variety of existing spaces across campus.”