A sprinkler head went off in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications building Saturday at around 1:50 p.m. flooding the 205 computer lab and the military lab in Newhouse I and the walkway combining Newhouse I and II.

The computers were undamaged, but the printers got wet, said Lorraine Branham, dean of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. The Newhouse IT department will assess if there was damage to the printers, Branham said.

Branham and the Syracuse Fire Department covered the computers and printers before further damage could be done, she said.

The water stayed at floor level and mainly affected the rugs, which will be vacuumed and undamaged, Branham said.

Branham was alerted to the damage when the fire alarm went off at around 1:50 p.m. She was in the Joyce Hergenhan Auditorium in Newhouse III for faculty and staff diversity training at the time.

‘We just figured someone pulled the alarm as a joke,’ she said. ‘Then I came to Newhouse I to get my dog, who I figured would be upset at the alarm, and I noticed the flooding.’

It is unclear why the alarm went off as there was no sign of fire or smoke, which is needed to set it off, Branham said. The fire department will continue to investigate the cause, she said.

The fire department and Department of Public Safety were not immediately available for comment.

rhkheel@syr.edu

Published on January 29, 2010 at 12:00 pm