Power was restored last night on St. Thomas' north campus after two unrelated incidents.
Shortly before 7:30 p.m., a fire sprinkler head in the Anderson Athletic and Recreation Complex field house was hit by a softball, causing water to be discharged from the fire suppression system. In coordination with the St. Paul Fire Department, Facilities Management shut down the water and started the cleanup process.
The other incident, which occurred around 8:20 p.m., involved a failure of the groundwater pump system in the O’Shaughnessy Educational Center main electrical vault. More than a foot of groundwater entered the electrical vault, requiring the primary fuses to be replaced to restore power. Facilities Management fixed the pumps around 9 p.m. and replaced the main fuses at 11:45 p.m., restoring electrical service.
“The systems worked as designed, protecting people and facilities,” said Jim Brummer, associate vice president of facilities management.