[Press Release] : Transformer fire displaces 1,200 MU students

[pr-l at news.gocolumbiamo.com]

You have received this message because you subscribe to the City of
Columbia’s Web Mail service. To view linked material click on provided
links or copy and paste them into your browser's address menu.
______________________________________________________

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
Contact: Chief Steven Sapp - (573) 874-7557

Transformer fire displaces 1,200 MU students

COLUMBIA, MO (April 17, 2007) - The Columbia Fire Department responded
to a report of a commercial structure fire at 8:33 p.m. on Tuesday,
April 17, at 800 Virginia Ave., the Hudson and Gillette residence halls
on the MU campus. 

The first arriving fire company reported light smoke on the ground
floor of the complex with a strong electrical odor. It was determined
that an electrical distribution transformer on the ground floor that
feeds electricity to both towers and the cafeteria had malfunctioned and
that there was an active fire in the transformer. 

Residence hall assistants had evacuated both Hudson and Gillette halls
which house about 900 students; however, two people were stranded in one
elevator which had stopped. Firefighters were able to remove the two
people from the elevator and they reported no injuries. 

Maintenance staff de-energized the transformer, cutting off all power
to both residence halls, which also allowed the fire to extinguish
itself. The fire was contained to the transformer and the electrical
room where the transformer was housed. 

The transformer will need to be replaced, but there was no damage to
the electrical room from fire. There was light to moderate smoke
throughout the building. Firefighters used large fans to ventilate the
building of smoke. 

Maintenance determined that the transformer could be replaced and
estimated that the repair work would take between one and three hours.
To complete the work, the power grid would need to be de-energized and
this would cause the new College Avenue Housing to be without power and
displace an additional 350 students. 

Residential Life worked to ensure that students had places to go and
worked with other MU departments to keep The Black Culture Center, Brady
Commons and the Memorial Union open later then normal. Many students
stayed in the area of Hudson and Gillette halls milling around the
sidewalks. Most students appeared to take the time out of the residence
halls in stride. 

By approximately 10:30 p.m. the College Avenue Housing building had
been evacuated, power to the grid shut off and repair work had begun. 

- 30 -
______________________________________________________

Archived press releases can be viewed online at: 
http://www.gocolumbiamo.com/Public_Comm/Public_Information/Press_Releases/

______________________________________________________

If you would like to stop receiving messages, modify list options, or
subscribe to other lists visit the Web Mail section of our Web site and
follow the instructions provided. 

http://www.gocolumbiamo.com/Web_Mail/index.php 


** Virus scanned by City of Columbia MO Spam/Virus Firewall **