Two leaky heating coils that caused tiles to fall from the ceiling at the West Campus Fresh Food Company Sunday night were fixed Monday morning, Dining Services Director Joshua Hubbard said Monday.
Hubbard said water flowing through the coils in the heating system froze during break and expanded, causing some of the pipes to crack. When the heat was turned back on over the weekend, the water thawed and leaked through the cracks, causing some of the dining hall’s ceiling tiles to rot and fall. Hubbard said the tiles are designed to decompose the way they did so they do not injure anyone beneath them when they fall.
Food service was not interrupted while workers repaired the coils Monday morning, and Hubbard said it will not be interrupted when they replace the ceiling tiles today.
A section of seating near the pizza station was roped off Sunday, but reopened for dinner Monday.
Hubbard said the heat in the dining hall was “basically uninterrupted,” though it was turned off for a short time while repairs were made.
Buildings ‘ Grounds will closely monitor the system later in the week when temperatures are expected to fall again, Hubbard said.
The problem has never occurred in the three-year-old dining hall before, Hubbard said, and he did not know if it has happened in other dining halls.
“It shouldn’t have happened this time, so I believe they feel confident that it will not repeat,” he said.
With students and staff back on campus, BU spokesman Colin Riley said freezing temperatures expected at the start of the semester should have less of an impact than they did over break.
“We’ve come through a weekend of record-setting cold and we expect another cold weekend coming up, but the buildings are full now,” he said. “With plumbing, the more frequently they’re used, the less likely they are to freeze.”
College of Communication freshman Erin Liszewski said she was in the dining hall when some of the tiles fell.
“I was nervous that stuff was going to fall on my head and I was worried that the dining hall was going to be closed for dinner and I would have to go out in the cold,” she said.
But Liszewski said she was impressed by how quickly things were repaired and she is confident the problem will not occur again.
“They handled it well and it was good we didn’t have to go anywhere else for dinner,” she said.
Hubbard did not know how much damage the problem caused or how much repairs would cost.
James Keating, associate vice president for Physical Plant, could not be reached for comment Monday.
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