A damaged sprinkler head in Watson Hall set off the building’s fire alarm and sprinkler system Saturday at around 6 p.m., according to a Watson Hall resident.

‘(In) places it was like a lake or something,’ said Jason Hecht, a sophomore majoring in international relations and a Watson Hall resident.

Hecht said he heard that an unidentified person used a metal trash can lid to break a sprinkler in the North lounge, which set off the alarms in the lounge.

Efforts have been made to dry the lounge with fans since the sprinklers went off.

‘The entire North lounge was flooded, they had fans and doors open all night,’ Hecht said. ‘I can only imagine the water got through the floor.’

The offices for HillTV are on the floor below the North lounge, but no HillTV equipment was damaged by the incident, said HillTV general manager Chris Milkovich.

‘There was just a small leak in a corner of the studio but we were able to contain it very fast and no equipment or footage was damaged,’ Milkovich said.

HillTV personnel noticed that a leak occurred upon their return to the station after they were allowed to reenter the building, Milkovich said. The station was then closed to determine if the studio’s lighting had been damaged by the leak. No damage was found.

‘One show has been delayed but we’ve made arrangements and all content will be out on time,’ Milkovich said.

HillTV was not the only party inconvenienced by the incident; students were as well, Hecht said.

‘We were outside for a very long time,’ Hecht said. ‘I had plans for the night that got pushed back for this whole thing.’

Published on April 3, 2005 at 12:00 pm