The Usdan Student Center was evacuated Wednesday afternoon when a steam pipe valve below the building malfunctioned, triggering the fire alarm.
As people exited, most spotted the cause: a large column of steam was shooting out of the building’s east side ground floor vents.
“We saw the steam outside the window and almost simultaneously an alarm went off and we were ushered out of the building,” said Joanne Palmer, administrative assistant at the Center for the Americas. “It all happened very fast.”
The steam pipe, which provides heat for University buildings, was repaired soon after the Middletown Fire Department completed its check of the building.
“When the valve malfunctions, a pressure relief valve opens to basically expel the steam and protect the pipe from overpressure,” said Cliff Ashton, director of Physical Plant. “When the safety valve opens, some steam comes out, and that set off a smoke detector above the pipe.”
Aside from a meeting of the University’s Administrative Assistants and dining workers cleaning up after lunch, the building was relatively empty, as most students were in class.
“Fortunately, it didn’t happen during lunch,” said Dean Rick Culliton, director of the Usdan Center.
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