Author: ACAN

Flood at Antioch College – From WYSO

Flood at Antioch College

by Emily McCord, WYSO

www.publicbroadcasting.net/wyso/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=1467824

YELLOW SPRINGS, OH (2009-02-09)

Yellow Springs resident Brian Springer was the first to notice the flooding to Main Hall on Saturday.

“I was walking my dog and noticed that the walls looked very wet and I looked in the window and saw, although it was nice and warm outside, it was raining inside the building and water was splashing everywhere and pooling,” says Springer.

Springer then called the Miami Township Fire and Rescue department, who determined that it was a broken pipe from the attic and water had been flowing throughout the building.

“What we find a little bit frustrating is that on December 25th, a pipe broke in the attic of South Hall, also a historic building. You would think after that pipe broke and flooded all four floors of that building, you might go look at the other pipes, especially at this building which is on the National Historic Register, to make sure it was properly protected,” says Springer.

Lynda Sirk, a spokesperson for the University, says the situation at the Main Hall is different because there was no alarm system in place that could have minimized the damage.

“The difference is that the system in the Main building, being over fifty years old, does not have the capability of having that kind of system of an alarm placed on it,” says Sirk.

A demonstration in response to the flooding took place Monday afternoon. Residents gathered to express their concern about how the University has been caring for the building, which has been closed since June 2008.

Peter Townsend is a former professor at Antioch.

“The damage through the winter to the buildings from water suggest that the University has not been very carefully caring for the buildings and we’re worried that that’s going to affect the negotiations for the future of the college,” says Peter Townsend, a former professor at Antioch.

“This has nothing to do with whether or not the building was occupied or unoccupied, whether it was winter or summer, whether it was wet or dry. It has everything to do with the age of the system and we’ve gone through every inspection we could have and should have and passed it,” says Sirk.

Sirk says Antioch University is working with the insurance company to properly assess the damage and that clean up will likey begin very soon. Sirk says a professional cleaning company is bringing in a lot of equipment, and that can take some time.

“They’re going to put 150 fans on each floor to dry it out and so that’s assembling a quite few fans,” says Sirk.

Sirk says there’s little concern for mold damage as all the carpeting and ceiling tiles will be removed in the building. She says the entire process should take around ten days.

YELLOW SPRINGS VILLAGERS TO GATHER AT ANTIOCH COLLEGE'S HISTORIC MAIN BUILDING TO VOICE CONCERN OVER RECENT WATER DAMAGE

PRESS RELEASE – MEDIA ALERT
Yellow Springs Citizens Group Representative
Yellow Springs, Ohio: 2-8-09

Time: – 12:00pm (Noon) Monday, February 9, 2009
Place: Antioch College Main Building – 795 Livermore St. Yellow Springs, Ohio
Contact: Peter Townsend -937-215-0578 – (Yellow Springs Citizens Group Representative)

YELLOW SPRINGS VILLAGERS TO GATHER AT ANTIOCH COLLEGE’S HISTORIC MAIN BUILDING TO VOICE CONCERN OVER RECENT WATER DAMAGE.

On Saturday, February 7, a resident of Yellow Springs, while walking his dog through the Antioch College campus, noticed water seeping through the bricks of the exterior wall of Main Building. When he looked through a window into what had been the president’s office, he saw water raining down from the ceiling into inches of water below (1). He called the Miami Township Fire and Rescue squad. The main feed to the sprinkler system in the attic had frozen and burst.

With the shuttering of the College, all campus buildings, with the exception of the Library, have been left unheated, despite repeated calls from alumni, villagers and Glenn Harper, the manager of preservation for the Ohio Historical Society, that minimal heat is necessary to safeguard the buildings in the winter.

In June, Harper wrote University officials: “Our office is concerned that without at least minimal measures to mothball and stabilize the historic campus buildings during the period in which they will be closed, significant damage may occur…We strongly suggest that forced air ventilation be provided in the summer and at least minimal heat (45 to 50 degrees) be provided during the winter months.”

The University did not heat the buildings.  This is the fourth Antioch building known to have experienced sprinkler system failure this winter.  The Union, Theater and South Hall have all suffered serious water damage in recent weeks.

According to Joyce Morrissey, former Health Advocate and Associate Dean of Students at Antioch College, “when there is water infiltration in buildings there is a timeline in which action has to be taken to prevent mold contamination…There is a 48 to 72 hour window to get things cleaned up and dried before mold activity begins.”

After viewing the online video of the water leak at Main Building, Ms. Morrissey contacted William Treasure, CPG, CMRS, and President of Turn Key Environmental Consultants. Mr. Treasure, a Certified Microbial Remediation Supervisor with over thirty years of experience in environmental services, had done all the environmental testing and oversaw the mold remediation work at the college in 2002. After listening to Ms. Morrissey’s description of the damage, Mr. Treasure said that drying the building out immediately is critical. Every hour of delay will cause more damage, he said, and cost more money. There are companies in the area that have equipment to deal with problems of this nature, he said, such as industrial dehumidifiers, dryers, and industrial desiccants. The cheapest and best solution for this type of large scale drying, said Treasure, is an industrial desiccant. The closet company with such equipment is in Indianapolis.

When Ms. Morrissey informed Mr. Treasure that heat was turned off in the building, he gasped, “Oh my god! They have to turn the heat on.”

Sunday afternoon, 24 hours after the water leak was discovered, standing water is visible through the windows. There is still no evidence of a cleanup effort.

The rally will take place at noon, Monday, February 9, 2009, at Antioch College’s Main Building, 795 Livermore Street, in Yellow Springs.

Yellow Springs Citizens Group
Available for Comment:
Joyce Morrissey – 937-545-3292
William Treasure -937-335-8807

(1) Video footage of this event can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjjUNF7Dx7E

Update – 2/9/09 – Rally against damage and neglect at Antioch College’s historic Main Building

YELLOW SPRINGS VILLAGERS TO GATHER AT ANTIOCH COLLEGE’S HISTORIC MAIN BUILDING TO VOICE CONCERN OVER RECENT WATER DAMAGE

PRESS RELEASE – MEDIA ALERT
Yellow Springs Citizens Group Representative
Yellow Springs, Ohio: 2-8-09

Time: – 12:00pm (Noon) Monday, February 9, 2009
Place: Antioch College Main Building – 795 Livermore St. Yellow Springs, Ohio
Contact: Peter Townsend -937-215-0578 – (Yellow Springs Citizens Group Representative)

YELLOW SPRINGS VILLAGERS TO GATHER AT ANTIOCH COLLEGE’S HISTORIC MAIN BUILDING TO VOICE CONCERN OVER RECENT WATER DAMAGE.

On Saturday, February 7, a resident of Yellow Springs, while walking his dog through the Antioch College campus, noticed water seeping through the bricks of the exterior wall of Main Building. When he looked through a window into what had been the president’s office, he saw water raining down from the ceiling into inches of water below (1). He called the Miami Township Fire and Rescue squad. The main feed to the sprinkler system in the attic had frozen and burst.

With the shuttering of the College, all campus buildings, with the exception of the Library, have been left unheated, despite repeated calls from alumni, villagers and Glenn Harper, the manager of preservation for the Ohio Historical Society, that minimal heat is necessary to safeguard the buildings in the winter.

In June, Harper wrote University officials: “Our office is concerned that without at least minimal measures to mothball and stabilize the historic campus buildings during the period in which they will be closed, significant damage may occur…We strongly suggest that forced air ventilation be provided in the summer and at least minimal heat (45 to 50 degrees) be provided during the winter months.”

The University did not heat the buildings.  This is the fourth Antioch building known to have experienced sprinkler system failure this winter.  The Union, Theater and South Hall have all suffered serious water damage in recent weeks.

According to Joyce Morrissey, former Health Advocate and Associate Dean of Students at Antioch College, “when there is water infiltration in buildings there is a timeline in which action has to be taken to prevent mold contamination…There is a 48 to 72 hour window to get things cleaned up and dried before mold activity begins.”

After viewing the online video of the water leak at Main Building, Ms. Morrissey contacted William Treasure, CPG, CMRS, and President of Turn Key Environmental Consultants. Mr. Treasure, a Certified Microbial Remediation Supervisor with over thirty years of experience in environmental services, had done all the environmental testing and oversaw the mold remediation work at the college in 2002. After listening to Ms. Morrissey’s description of the damage, Mr. Treasure said that drying the building out immediately is critical. Every hour of delay will cause more damage, he said, and cost more money. There are companies in the area that have equipment to deal with problems of this nature, he said, such as industrial dehumidifiers, dryers, and industrial desiccants. The cheapest and best solution for this type of large scale drying, said Treasure, is an industrial desiccant. The closet company with such equipment is in Indianapolis.

When Ms. Morrissey informed Mr. Treasure that heat was turned off in the building, he gasped, “Oh my god! They have to turn the heat on.”

Sunday afternoon, 24 hours after the water leak was discovered, standing water is visible through the windows. There is still no evidence of a cleanup effort.

The rally will take place at noon, Monday, February 9, 2009, at Antioch College’s Main Building, 795 Livermore Street, in Yellow Springs.

Yellow Springs Citizens Group
Available for Comment:
Joyce Morrissey – 937-545-3292
William Treasure -937-335-8807

(1) Video footage of this event can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjjUNF7Dx7E

Update – 2/9/09 – Rally against damage and neglect at Antioch College’s historic Main Building

Leak and water damage to Antioch Hall (Main Bldg)

This video documentation of water leakage at Antioch College’s historic Main Building was discovered on Saturday, February 7, 2009. A resident of Yellow Springs walking through campus noticed the water soaked bricks and decided to have a closer look. Antioch University is in charge of the maintenance and care of this building.