Kirby Ballroom gets a quick makeover
Becky Edwards
Issue date: 2/18/09 Section: News
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On the Saturday before Thanksgiving of 2008, a pipe located in a mechanical room on the fourth floor over the Kirby Ballroom froze over and burst, causing water to pour down into the offices below.
The Associate Director of the Kirby Student Center Patrick Keenan said the bulk of the damage took place on the third floor in the Ballroom but many offices below, like the Multicultural Center on the second floor, as well as the Statesman on the first floor, were also hit.
"I got the call that Saturday and came up to the school right away," Keenan said. "Some of the meeting rooms had three-to-four inches of standing water and maybe even a little more."
Director of the Kirby Student Center Corbin Smyth even compared opening one of the doors that was leaking water to a cartoon because the water rushed out when the door was opened.
"The water came down through the ceiling and walls and poured into several offices," Smyth said. "Some of the rooms in the Multicultural Center had to be completely gutted and a few staff members were displaced. We hired sub-contractors to help with some of the work and they all moved very swiftly."
Sophomore Jane Sorman, who works in the Multicultural Center, said that some staff members had to share offices.
"Disability Services was temporarily shut down and was moved," Sorman said. "I think it was a little frustrating for them because there wasn't enough space."
Keenan said the water in the pipe was greywater, which is water that usually comes from sources such as dishwashing and laundry.
"We had to replace anything that got wet because the water in the pipe was re-circulated, and we didn't want the possibility of mold growth," Keenan said.
Smyth said that the first week after the pipe burst was devoted to the clean up process by the UMD facilities department so that the ballroom and the other offices could be used as soon as possible.
"It was all about people's willingness to be flexible," Smyth said.
However, despite all the damage, Smyth said there were some positive aspects that came out of the ordeal.
"We were able to put in brand new carpet and totally changed the look of the ballroom," he said. "We gave it a fresh coat of paint and even re-waxed the dance floor."
Smyth said that when working with facilities, issues are bound to happen once in a while.
"It might not always be water, but you have to plan for the unknown," Smyth said. "Right away, people knew how to respond. You just don't know what's going to happen, and we have very experienced electricians and custodial folks who work quickly."
Keenan said that the staff was incredible with dealing with unexpected flooding.
"Everyone stepped in and did what had to be done," Keenan said.
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