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
Forwarded as requested by Judith Hempfling, YS Village Council President
From: Judith Hempfling
Date: February 9, 2009 11:36:41 PM EST
Subject: Antioch College Main Building Clean Up Plan
Villagers and friends of Antioch College,
I am writing to share information gathered this afternoon at a meeting between Village leaders and Antioch University officials regarding the flooding of Antioch College Main Building. Chancellor Toni Murdoch and Public Relations Director Linda Sirk agreed to meet with Village Council members Karen Wintrow and myself, Village Manager Mark Cundiff and Fire Chief Collin Altman to provide information about this event and their plans for clean up. The information we received was very helpful and we are hopeful that the work done in the next days will go a long way to minimize damage of this beloved building. Please share this information.
Clearly, much of the distress in regards to these recent events, has been a lack of information which had left many of us trying to piece together what had occurred and the impact of the water on the building. The images caught on video of many inches of water in Main Building with more water raining down was very shocking and frightening.
Below are the highlights of the information we received today regarding Main Building.
• A walk through of all of the buildings on campus takes place 3 times a week and had occured late in the week
• The cause of the water pipe break in the attic is believed to be corrosion of a supply pipe to the sprinkler system
• The sprinkler system in the building is a dry system, but with the pipe breakage, compressed air was released and the water began to flow
• At the source of water in the basement there is space heating to prevent freezing pipes
• There is no alarm on this system which is why the Fire Department was not alerted to the problem
• The University has hired a highly recommended company Servpro, to do the cleanup.
Servpro has recommended the following, and the University has hired Servpro to do the work of drying out the building. They will begin there work tomorrow, Tuesday:
• Excess water will be extracted from each floor of the building
• 150 fans will be placed on each floor of the building
• During the cleanup, the building will be heated via auxillary sources provided by Servpro
• Soaked Carpeting and ceiling tiles will be removed
• A high priority is to protect the wood panelling
• The wet area on the outside brick wall shown in the video is believed to be unrelated to the incident
• Insurance coverage will pay for repairs beyond clean up to be done in the future
• The cleanup will take approximately 10 days
• The fire protection system will be put back in place in the next few days
We also discussed the situation at South Hall. When the sprinkler system went off there in late December, the alarm went off, and the Fire Department responded. The water was shut off within a few minutes of the incident. Some water damage occurred to drywall and ceiling. Wet carpeting and drywall was removed and the area was cleaned up by the College/University crew. Insurance coverage will repair this damage in the future but it is being described as fixable and not structural. All wet materials were removed.
Both these letters are on http://www.antiochians.org/
—-
February 9, 2009
To: The Antioch College Alumni Board
Fr: The Board Pro Tempore
Re: Antioch Hall
The Board Pro Tempore of the Antioch College Continuation Corporation shares the concerns expressed by all Antiochians regarding the condition of Antioch Hall and will be carefully following actions to address the damage that occurred over the weekend.
Matthew Derr, Chief Transition Officer requested and was granted a tour of the building and also earlier discussed the situation directly with Art Zucker, Chairman of the Antioch University Board of Trustees, Toni Murdock, Chancellor and Tom Faecke, Vice Chancellor. The Board Pro Tempore also met last evening and had an extensive conversation on this topic.
The Board Pro Tempore feels that stewardship of the entire campus is a critical responsibility of the Antioch University Board. In particular, “Main Building” represents both our symbolic home and as well as a national historic treasure. In the spirit of our collaborative work with the development of the Letter of Intent, it is the Board’s expectation that the campus be carefully safeguarded prior to its intended transfer.
Following this statement you will find a link to a document from the Chancellor’s office shared with the Antioch University Board. We anticipate that more information will be forthcoming.
——
Letter From Antioch University:
Monday February 9, 2009
To the Community of Yellow Springs,
Over this past weekend, a water leak was discovered in the Main Building that has, understandably, caused much concern among alumni and Yellow Springs residents. The break was discovered around 5pm on Saturday, February 7. Even though public outcry runs counter, cold weather, lack of heat in the facilities, neglect on the part of the university, and quick rebound in outside temperature is not the cause of the current flooding in Main Building. It is early in the investigation and the University is unable to say definitively what caused the break.
The source of the water appears to be from a broken pipe in the very peak of the attic of Main Building, with water contained mostly to the center of the building. The fire system currently in use is a dry system, which means that it is not triggered into activation until heat is detected and, subsequently, pipes become filled with water. This system, according to Miami Twp. Fire Chief, is perfectly designed for the attic area of Main Building. Working with sprinkler system experts, a complete investigation has begun to help determine the cause.
Tom Faecke is overseeing this issue and reports that all water has been turned off in Main Building. Any remaining standing water in the building will be addressed beginning Tuesday morning. In addition, a professional service will begin to dry the building immediately. The University is also working with insurance carriers to cover the cost of remediation. It must be noted that even when the power plant was in operation, the attic space in Main Building remained unheated. When the break was detected, it was over 50 degrees in the attic so ice is not suspected. However, that is speculation and a definitive answer will be determined on further investigation.
The sprinkler system in use in Main Building is legal and has passed all required yearly inspections according to Miami Township Fire Chief, Colin Altman.
The pipes in the sprinkler system are 50 plus years old and corroded so that may very well be the cause but the University will not know all of the facts until the investigation is farther along. Water may have pumped for several hours, but not days as has been speculated. Campus routine inspection schedule had someone walking through, inspecting Main Building late in the workweek and no damage was detected at that time.
Initial inspection detects no structural damage to Main Building so the damage appears to be superficial water damage only.
NEXT STEPS:
• the University assessed and documented the damage and is talking with the insurance company to cover the costs
• a crew will begin Tuesday morning, working from the top floor down, to remove any remaining standing water from Main Building
• all water will be extracted from Main Building and it will be dried using fans and heat by a professional company who specializes in this work
• The plan is to use 150 fans PER FLOOR to dry the facility
• Auxiliary heat will be used to warm the building during this process
• The remediation process will also remove all wet ceiling tiles and wet carpet and replace with new once the facility is judged to be completely dry
• Great care will be taken to dry and preserve the wood paneling prevalent in Main Building
• During the closure of the College, all equipment was removed from Main Building so no equipment remained to be damage
• All student records were previously removed and secured in a different location–no student records remain in Main Building
It is regrettable that this has happened. Please look for updates from the University as the investigation moves forward and we have more substantive information to share.
Toni Murdock, Chancellor
Update on Antioch Hall & South Hall
http://www.antiochians.org/s/1050/qs1_index.aspx?sid=1050&gid=1&pgid=252&cid=938&ecid=938&crid=0&calpgid=61&calcid=749
February 11, 2009
To: The Antioch College Alumni Board
Fr: The Board Pro Tempore
Re: Buildings & Grounds Committee and an Update on Antioch Hall & South Hall
One of the most important aspects of the recently signed Letter of Intent is the transfer of the historic Antioch College campus from the University to the Board Pro Tempore of the Antioch College Continuation Corporation. With this in mind, the first standing committee appointed by Lee Morgan, Chair, was a group focused specifically on buildings and grounds.
This committee is led by alumna and board member Allyn S. Hansson Feinberg ‘70. Allyn has a graduate degree in architecture from the University of Colorado and has practiced design and planning with a specialization in historic preservation in a small, nationally known architecture and planning firm. Currently, she is a senior vice president for ERTH Technologies, Inc., a company that is developing technologies to treat environmentally damaging industrial wastewaters.
The Board Pro Tempore has also selected Stanley Consultants of Illinois to conduct an assessment of the campus and costs associated with future uses. In particular, we are reviewing the capital costs of restoration. We selected Stanley Consultants based on the strength of their reputation and, importantly, because they were very familiar with the campus and its condition prior to suspension of operations in June 2008.
Antioch Hall and South Hall
Over the last three days, the Board Pro Tempore has expressed its concerns regarding the preservation of Antioch Hall and South Hall. The University has been cooperative and has reassured us that it has taken, and continues to take, appropriate action with regard to both buildings with the guidance of outside expertise.
Yesterday, the University provided the board with an explanation behind the cause of the flooding of Antioch Hall. According to Chancellor Murdock, “The source of the water appears to be from a broken pipe in the very peak of the attic of Main Building, with water contained mostly to the center of the building. The fire system currently in use is a dry system, which means that it is not triggered into activation until heat is detected and, subsequently, pipes become filled with water. This system, according to Miami Twp. Fire Chief, is perfectly designed for the attic area of Main Building. Working with sprinkler system experts, a complete investigation has begun to help determine the cause.”
Today, the Board Pro Tempore also asked for and was provided with a description of another issue on campus related to South Hall. The water leakage in South Hall also occurred in an attic space. According to a University spokesperson, an investigation revealed that a pipe hanger had broken loose, causing the pipe to drop and resulting in approximately a ¾” break which then allowed the compressed air inside to exhaust and for water to fill the pipe and leak into the building.
Most importantly, we have further requested and expect to soon receive more detailed information regarding the clean up and protection of both Antioch Hall and South Hall. As previously planned, the Board Pro Tempore will also be working directly with its own consultants next week in Yellow Springs. With their help, we hope to both better understand the current conditions and to begin planning for the future campus of an independent Antioch College.
From Lori Askeland’s Blog – http://askelandforcouncil.blogspot.com/2009/02/further-update-on-efforts-to-dry.html
FYI!
—–
From: Lynda Sirk
To: Judith H. and Mark C.
Sent: Thursday, February 12, 2009 5:25 PM
Subject: Antioch update
I will try to provide you with an update every 48 hours or so to keep you apprised of the progress in Main Building. Here is the first update:
Work began on drying Main building within the first 36 hours of notification of the break and the workers are making good progress. All work will continue in an effort for a full and fast recovery.
Working with insurance companies, the University received bids from three companies and chose Munters of Hebron, Kentucky to do the remediation work. Munters is an international remediation firm known for efficiency and environmentally friendly technology and they began work Thursday morning. The estimated time for this project is 10 to 14 days.
Munters is a world leader in damage restoration and owns the world’s largest fleet of drying equipment. Technicians will install robust dehumidifiers bringing heat and 2% humidity air into the building to dry affected areas and to control the environment. Munters claims that their deep drying techniques can often reverse the deterioration caused by water damage, as their desiccant dehumidifiers pump extremely dry air into water damaged buildings. This coupled with constant air movement causes the moisture in building materials to evaporate much quicker. In addition to drying the building, Munters will inspect for mold damage.
las
Lynda Sirk
Director of University Relations
Antioch University