Author: Ryan Strong
Newcomb Hall sustained extensive water damage on Thursday evening after heat sensors triggered the sprinkler system in a dorm room on the third floor. Campus Safety and the Los Angeles Fire Department responded to the dormitory but found no fire, though they encountered a large flood caused by a sprinkler head that had broken off in the affected room. The college has not yet committed to reimbursing students for the loss of belongings from the flooding.
Kirsten Wright (junior) and Elise Hampilos (sophomore) live in the room where the sprinklers were activated. Campus Safety and Facilities managers at the college suspected a faulty “heater duct” may have triggered the sprinkler’s heat sensors. Those suspicions were further confirmed after speaking to the room’s residents, who reported that their room had been abnormally hot before the incident.
“The engine in the heater engine was faulty and the temperature got to 120 degrees, so it set the sprinkler off and then the head fell off,” Hampilos said. When the sprinkler head broke, water discharged the pipe at an uncontrolled and extremely high rate, causing much of the damage.
Much of Wright and Hampilos’ belongings were ruined by the greasy water that had been sitting in pipes before it was released, including Wright’s clothing, laptop, other electronics and futon as well as Hampilos’ laptop, electronics and art supplies, according to the students. Wright estimates her damages at $3,000.
Additionally, flood water spread to other rooms on the floor by flowing under the door, according to Campus Safety reports. Rooms on the second floor also experienced leaking from the ceiling.
Facilities has begun trying to clean up and repair some of the damage. Currently, Wright and Hampilos are staying elsewhere until the considerable mess in their room gets cleaned up, a job that has been left largely to them.
“Except my classes, I’ve been cleaning every waking moment,” Hampilos said.
Though the college has solicited damage estimates from all students affected by the incident, it has not yet committed to covering the damages. Director of Risk Management Rebecca Dowling noted that while the college purchases insurance for water damage from sprinkler activation for their property, it does not cover students’ personal belongings. But Dowling noted that does not mean the college will not help these students.
“…We encourage students to purchase renter’s insurance,” Dowling said. “That is not to say that we leave students on their own. If there is a loss, we consider the specific circumstances to determine our level of obligation to remediate the loss.”
The students involved think that the college should help them foot the bill because they have no control over the heater unit or the fact that the sprinkler head malfunctioned.
“I feel like if we had set it off, I would completely understand them not helping us with the damages. But it was the college’s heater that caused this,” Hampilos said.
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