Approximately 550 students were forced out of Red Jacket Hall, one of the six quadrangles in the Ellicott Complex, Wednesday after flooding caused a power outage. Students were offered housing for the night in the Triple Gym of Alumni Arena.
The power went out Wednesday morning when a broken sprinkler line caused water to drip into an electrical room and damage a single electrical panel that shut down the electricity and heat in the building.
“Our hope is that the repairs will be made as soon as possible,” said Dennis Black, vice president for University Life and Services. “Once that’s done, our halls will be reheated and our students will have the opportunity to return.”
UB has provided 550 cots through the American Red Cross and Erie County emergency services inside the Triple Gym for students. University Police will patrol the gym throughout the night. UB Chief of Police Gerald Schoenle said UPD added three additional officers and a supervisor, as well as 18 Campus Living staff members. The gym can hold up to 1000 people, according to Schoenle.
"We are going to treat the Triple gym as their personal bedroom space,” Black said.
Busing is being provided to students from Red Jacket to Alumni Arena so they can grab belongings.
Black said UB expects a large number of students to stay with friends in other residence halls and at hotels across the street from campus for the night instead.
The housing of students in the Triple Gym did not affect the women’s basketball team’s 7 p.m. game in the main gym of Alumni Arena, which was played as scheduled.
Crossroads Culinary Center (C3), a dining hall located in Red Jacket, was also closed down Wednesday night. A letter to students from the Division of Student Affairs said that the Ellicott Food Court and Governors Dining Hall will have additional operations and expanded service times. A designated shuttle ran from Ellicott to Governors Residence Hall from 4:45 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Black said instructors have been advised to accommodate students affected by the power outage.
The last time this many students were displaced was in 2006 during the Buffalo October storm. Approximately 900-1000 students on South Campus were moved onto North Campus.
Black could not give a timetable for when power will return to Red Jacket and students will be able to move back in.
“Best we can say if we’ve got good people working on it and once they’ve resolved the situation, we’ll wait for the buildings to reheat,” he said.
The Spectrum will continue to update this story as more information becomes available.
email: news@ubspectrum.com
Photo: Breadchastick / Wikimedia Commons
