UT dorm damaged by water from sprinkler

7/3/2011

An iron left operating on a countertop and water from a sprinkler system caused an estimated $35,000 damage in the University of Toledo’s International House dormitory Sunday morning.

Toledo firefighters responded to a call of smoke on the sixth floor of the UT dorm about 10:10 a.m.

Battalion Chief Gerald Takats said a student had left an iron on when she left for the day. He said the student, who had left Toledo, telephoned another student in the dorm about an hour earlier to say she might have left the iron on but the warning was unheeded.

The chief said there was burn damage to a countertop and to a computer that was on the counter, but the majority of the damage was from the large amount of water that was released by the sprinkler.

Chief Takats said firefighters used a wedge to reduce the flow of water from the sprinkler and a tarp to channel the water outside through the window. The chief said the building was empty for the summer except for two units.