As you may know, as a result of the inclement weather, a pipe burst last night in Virginia-Snider (VS) Commons on the Snider side of the building just before 8 p.m. Thursday. This message is to let you know about our response and what students can expect moving forward in terms of our communication with them.
The pipe that burst triggered the emergency alarm, and we were required to evacuate the building. The, live-in staff member, Residential Community Director (RCD) for VS was on site when the break occurred, and University Park Fire Department, SMU Police Department, and SMU Facilities arrived within minutes. Because of the cold temperatures, we had previously made arrangements to have indoor evacuation sites available. Students were evacuated to the Hughes-Trigg Student Center (HTSC). We had three Residence Life and Student Housing (RLSH) staff members there to help.
Our facilities’ teams assessed the damages, blocked off the affected area and quickly began cleanup. The water leak affected 18 rooms/suites that house 46 of the 238 VS residents. We sent a text message to those 46 students who needed to be relocated with instructions on how to receive a temporary room assignment and gather their needed belongings. Students were also given the option to stay with a friend for the night.
We then sent an email to all VS Commons residents notifying them that they could return to the building. We gave instructions around ingress and egress and how to avoid the affected areas. Staff members stationed in HTSC also communicated in person with students that they could return to the building. The evacuation lasted less than 3 hours. Staff members greeted students upon their return to help them with instructions.
A restoration company is on campus today to do more extensive clean up, water extraction and drying of the impacted areas. The affected students will receive additional communication today to address how to retrieve needed belongings and other temporary housing questions. We believe that repairs will take less than a week and are working to have the 46 displaced students return to their rooms as soon as possible and will touch base frequently with an updated timeline. Some repairs may be completed after they are back in the rooms. Other students remaining in the building are using a different entrance or exit to the building in order to avoid wet areas.
I am truly proud of our team’s response. At a time when resources including staffing are in high demand and many are dealing with the weathers’ ill effects at their own homes, SMU continues to place the highest priority on the safety of our students. Please do not hesitate to reach out should you have any questions and I will do my best to answer them in a timely fashion. I appreciate your patience and understanding as we continue to work through repairs in the days ahead.
Sincerely, Melinda P. Carlson
Assistant Vice President and Dean
Residence Life & Student Housing
Division of Student Affairs