Fire alarms and sprinklers abruptly interrupted the sound sleep of many residents of Witte Hall early Saturday morning.
As if going away to college was not enough of a system shock, the new residents of the southeast dorm's A tower were treated to evacuation and, for some, temporary relocation after a sprinkler was set off on the tower's sixth floor.
\I beat the hell out of the alarm clock,"" said Robyn Rosenberg, Witte resident and UW-Madison sophomore. ""I honestly thought my alarm was going off.""
Unfortunately for Rosenberg and the rest of the tower's roughly 1,150 residents, the 2:30 a.m. wake-up call was that of the fire alarm, which is automatically triggered when a sprinkler is set off, according to Paul Evans, director of UW-Madison housing.
Rosenberg said while fire alarm evacuations normally last between 10 and 15 minutes, this one was much longer.
Evans explained that extensive water damage to the fifth and sixth floors prevented residents from being able to return to their rooms. These residents were directed to Gordon Commons and the Southeast Recreational Facility to resume their slumber.
Water was also found on floors two, three and four, but according to Evans, it was a ""minimal"" amount.
All relocated residents were allowed to return to their rooms around 8 a.m. Saturday.
""I think right now it's in pretty good shape,"" Evans said.
The sprinkler system, which emits water at a rate of 40 gallons per minute did cause damage to one of Witte Hall's A tower elevators, disrupting the move-in process Saturday.
UW-Madison sophomore Lilly Danielson, who was working as a Badger Buddy during the move-in, said the broken elevator forced new residents and dorm staff alike to lug residents' belongings up several flights of stairs.
According to Evans, the elevator was operational again by 10:00.
Evans said vandalism was the cause of the disruption and asks anyone with information about the incident to call UW-Madison Police or Campus CrimeStoppers at 262-TIPS.
-Maureen Backman contributed
to this report.
