Hundreds of Warren Towers residents were evacuated from Shields Tower last night after a boiler-room steam leak set off alarms, according to fire officials at the scene.
The leak originated in the C Tower boiler room on the girls’ side of the fifth floor, residents said. The alarm sounded at approximately 7:20 p.m., and about five fire trucks responded within minutes.
Fifth-floor residents waited longer than others to return to their floor to allow the steam to clear, students said.
Janitorial staff spoke to fifth-floor residents when they returned and told them that steam leaks occur when the steam pressure rises too much, said resident Liz Mauro, a College of Arts and Sciences freshman. The staff members said they were not sure why the pressure rose so high in this instance, Mauro said.
“They opened all the doors on the girls’ side to let the steam out,” Mauro said. “We were afraid our computers had short circuited, but nothing happened.”
Fifth-floor resident Maria Diaz, a College of General Studies freshman, said she heard a “weird noise” from the room next to the bathroom when she was on her way to throw out trash and saw steam and a puddle of water on the floor near the boiler room.
Diaz reported the steam and water puddle to the Office of Residence Life and heard the fire alarm sound as she was walking back to her room.
“I went back from dinner, and I saw there was smoke pouring out of [the boiler room] and water coming out of it,” said fifth-floor resident Rachael Protas, a CAS freshman. “The hall was covered with steam. It’s pretty much a bunch of pipes. It smells like death. The water was sort of brown.”
Maintenance workers told residents the cleanup went properly, students said.
“It is just frustrating and annoying to have to evacuate like that, but I don’t think there is anything they could have done differently,” Mauro said, “and I hope they find out what is wrong so it doesn’t happen again.”
Phone calls to the Boston Fire Department were not returned last night.
Staff reporters Andrew FitzGerald and Jenna Nierstedt contributed reporting for this article.