Pipe bursts in Old Main

At approximately 6:10 p.m. Tuesday night, Nov. 23, a 2.5-inch sprinkler pipe on the fifth floor of Old Main burst, flooding many office suites in the central section of the building that faces the Old Main lawn.

Cleanup efforts are underway. Initial mitigation will involve stripping sheet rock off of affected areas and drying these areas out to remove the threat of mold. Carpet will be removed where necessary.

Depending on the level of water damage, most departments will remain open in their current locations or in close-by areas; look for directional signage by affected offices for relocation information. Individual offices within those suites may need to be relocated, which is happening this morning.

Affected departments and offices include: OM 540, the Counseling Center; OM 560, Prevention and Wellness Services; OM 450-470, the offices of the president, provost and vice provost for Information Technology; OM 370, Loans and Collections; OM 360, Student Accounts; OM 350, the offices of the Faculty Senate; and OM 240, 250, 265 and 275, the offices of Financial Aid and the Scholarship Center.

The initial points of contact within these offices remain the same; as offices or individuals are shifted to temporary locations during the four- to five-week repair process, their new locations will be posted in Western Today.

Smoke smell in Bond Hall and Old Main

In addition to but unrelated to the burst pipe, last night an errant cigarette thrown into a stream vent caused a small fire among some gathered leaves in the vent; smoke from this leaf fire was sucked into the steam tunnels and distributed to Bond Hall and Old Main, resulting in areas in those buildings that may smell of smoke. There was no fire within the buildings, and the smoke smell should dissipate soon.

Click each image for a larger version and for photo information.

<p> In the offices of Student Financial Services on the third floor of Old Main, Mary Nichols salvages office supplies from water-damaged areas while student Samantha Gunderson and staff member Rian Barnes remove damaged papers from a storage closet. Ph
<p> Elva Giddings, interim director of Prevention and Wellness Services on the fifth floor of Old Main, cleans her office, which was the epicenter of the disaster. Tuesday night, a pipe burst in the ceiling above her office and flooded much of the build
<p> In a third-floor study area in Old Main, a duct directs moisture out of the building. Photo by Brooke Loisel | University Communications intern</p>
<p> Much of the water that spilled from the fifth floor of Old Main cascaded down the outside of the building and subsequently froze. Photo by Matthew Anderson | WWU</p>
<p> Richard Porter, a maintenance mechanic with Western Washington University Facilities Management, uses a scanner to determine what areas of the ceiling are wet. Purple on the screen indicates areas of dampness. Photo by Matthew Anderson | WWU</p>
<p> Richard Porter, a maintenance mechanic with Western Washington University Facilities Management, uses a scanner to determine what areas of the ceiling are wet in the offices of the president and provost on the fourth floor of Old Main. Photo by Broo
<p> Elva Giddings, interim director of Prevention and Wellness Services on the fifth floor of Old Main, cleans her office, which was the epicenter of the disaster. Tuesday night, a pipe burst in the ceiling above her office and flooded much of the build
<p> A sign hanging above the third-floor entrance to Old Main is decked with icicles formed from water gushing from a broken pipe on the fifth floor of the building. Photo by Matthew Anderson | WWU</p>
<p> In a third-floor study area in Old Main, a duct directs moisture out of the building. Photo by Matthew Anderson | WWU</p>
<p> Much of the water that spilled from the fifth floor of Old Main cascaded down the outside of the building and subsequently froze. Photo by Matthew Anderson | WWU</p>
<p> Much of the water that spilled from the fifth floor of Old Main cascaded down the outside of the building and subsequently froze. Photo by Matthew Anderson | WWU</p>
<p> A damaged section of a drop ceiling is removed so facilities workers can assess the damage caused by the burst pipe. Photo by Brooke Loisel | University Communications intern</p>
<p> Facilities workers survey the damage in the offices of the president and provost on the fourth floor of Old Main. Photo by Brooke Loisel | University Communications intern</p>
<p> Richard Porter, a maintenance mechanic with Western Washington University Facilities Management, uses a scanner to determine what areas of the ceiling are wet in the offices of the president and provost on the fourth floor of Old Main. Photo by Matt
<p> Craig Evans, a maintenance mechanic with Western Washington University Facilities Management, configures a duct to blow moisture from the inside of the offices of the president and provost on the fourth floor of Old Main. Photo by Matthew Anderson |
<p> Garbage cans sit in the Old Main hallway outside the president&#39;s office on the fourth floor. Photo by Brooke Loisel | University Communications intern</p>