A group of college students making s'mores set off a dormitory sprinkler system and flooded the building overnight, officials said.
University of North Texas President Neal Smatresk said the students were making s'mores on the fifth floor of the seven-floor Kerr Hall Tower A when they set off a sprinkler. The first sprinkler triggered others as well, leading to the eventual flood on the fifth floor.
In total 521 students had to be evacuated at around 3 a.m. Monday. About 60 percent of those students were back in their rooms by the early afternoon, but 120 or so are being relocated to other quarters on campus due to damage.
The lower floors of the dorm hall also took on water as it leaked through ceilings and down staircases, however university officials said the worst damage was on the fifth floor. Damage to students’ personal belongings was minimized by residents putting towels under their doors.
Smatresk said the flooding could have been much worse, but it happened during the last week of class before finals. He said he’d write an letter to the deans asking for “mercy” for the Kerr students on Monday as they recover from the situation.
However, Smatresk adds the event did prove a good test for the emergency plans and systems in place which worked as they were supposed to.
NBC 5's Todd L. Davis contributed to this report.
