DEEP FREEZE TAKES
ANOTHER TOLL: BURST PIPE FLOODS AUSTIN PEAY UNIVERSITY BUILDING'S OFFICES,
CLASSROOMS IN CLARKSVILLE, TENN
Posted: Jan 10, 2015 1:18 PM EST Updated: Jan 10, 2015
1:18 PM EST
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Officials at Austin Peay State
University are assessing the damage after a burst pipe flooded a building
there.
The Leaf-Chronicle reports (http://leafne.ws/1BMJNBp)
officials think the Wednesday pipe burst at the Kimbrough Building was the
result of extreme overnight temperatures.
The flood affected classrooms, Graduate Studies offices
and College of Business offices.
APSU spokesman Bill Persinger told the paper the
classrooms will be repaired and ready to use by Jan. 20 but officials are
unsure how soon the Graduate Studies offices will reopen.
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A COOLING COIL
CRACKED IN A ROOFTOP AIR HANDLER AT THE KIMBROUGH BUILDING. APSU BUILDING FLOODS OVERNIGHT, CAUSES MAJOR
DAMAGE
(Photo: Contributed / Bill Persinger)
CLARKSVILLE,
Tenn. – One of the buildings on Austin Peay’s campus flooded overnight
Wednesday and continued through Thursday morning.
A cooling coil cracked in a rooftop air handler at the
Kimbrough Building, which holds the College of Graduate Studies and the College
of Business.
Officials think the pipe burst was the direct result of
the extreme overnight temperatures, but contributing factors are still being
investigated, according to Bill Persinger, executive director of Public
Relations and Marketing at APSU.
Around 1:52 a.m., cameras caught significant water
filling the first floor lobby, so the break happened sometime prior to that,
according to Persinger.
Classrooms on the east side of the first and second
floors, the Graduate Studies offices and the College of Business departmental
offices were the main areas affected.
The faculty offices on the west side of the lobby appear
to be unaffected, according to Persinger.
The central point of the leak was directly above the
Graduate Studies offices, causing water to come through the roof.
The water spread through the east side of the second
floor then migrated into the first floor at several locations including the
center stairway.
According to Persinger, the university will be able to
use all the classrooms in the building for classes on Jan. 20. Time lines to
reopen the Graduate Studies office haven’t been determined yet.
Staff in the College of Graduate Studies and the College
of Business will be temporarily located on the second floor of Miller Hall.
Anyone needing to reach staff in the Graduate Studies Office can call
931-221-7414 or email them at gradstudies@apsu.edu. To reach staff in
the College of Business, please call 931-221-1283 or ruppw@apsu.edu.