Part of Landrum Academic Center’s fifth floor experienced flooding on Tuesday because of a sprinkler valve that broke while being worked on, said Corey Best, NKU’s director of public relations, in a statement to The Northerner. The water has since dried.

Best said that Blue Grass Fire Protection, the company that installs and maintains sprinkler systems in on-campus buildings, was repairing a leaking valve on Landrum Academic Center’s fifth floor when the accident occurred. 

“While he was fixing it, the valve broke and water leaked out. Within a matter of minutes he had the system shut off to stop the water. Facilities had crews on scene immediately and started sucking up the water, opening ceiling tiles and putting fans in place,” Best wrote. 

Dr. Andrea Gazzaniga, chair of the English department, provided additional details about the impact of the sprinkler leak in an email after the initial publication of this story. 

She said she was on the fifth floor when the incident occurred and reacted by calling Facilities Management. 

The chair added that “the water was not immediately turned off” and that it took about 20 minutes for Facilities Management to arrive at the scene. 

William Moulton, director of Operations and Maintenance, said in an email to The Northerner that the worker who was working on the sprinkler system “acted promptly to begin the process of turning off and locating all three valves necessary to stop the water flow for this particular location.”

Gazzaniga said she also called University Police when the accident occurred because she felt there was a “potential threat of physical injury.” The perceived risk of physical injury, she said, stemmed from falling ceiling tiles and concerning fumes. The odor turned out to be from water that had been stagnant in the pipe, she said.

Moulton confirmed that some ceiling tiles collapsed under the weight of the water. Additional ceiling tiles were removed on the fourth floor to facilitate air flow and drying, he said. 

Some books that were in a bookcase situated under the flow of water were damaged in the event, and the carpet is discolored now that the water has dried, according to Gazzaniga.

Moulton said the facilities team is evaluating the damages in the affected areas and that “work orders will be submitted to do the work necessary to repair the area back to its original state.”

Classes in the building continued as usual today.

This story has been edited to reflect the most up to date information obtained by The Northerner.