A frozen pipe burst in Carpenter Tower Jan. 3, causing flooding of several dorm rooms on the third and fourth floors of the building.

Carpenter Tower hall director Corey Fereday sent an email to Carpenter residents Thursday, Jan. 4.

“Yesterday afternoon we experienced a flood in Carpenter Tower. The student floors impacted were 3 and 4. The cause has been identified,” the email said.

Fereday said a burst pipe caused the flood. The pipe froze due to a dislodged vent cap that allowed cold air to flow directly into the ceiling. After the flood, several contractors were onsite to ensure that the building was ready for spring semester. Belfor, a major property restoration company, is managing the cleanup.

Hall minister, Nathaniel Kidd was one of the few people in the building during the flood. Kidd said the fire alarm went off in his apartment at 1 p.m. He said he thought nothing unusual of it, as several fire drills occurred over break.

Kidd said after hearing water running through pipes and sirens outside, he realized it might not be a drill.

As Kidd and his daughter exited the building, water started to leak from the ceiling. When they reentered the building, he saw water everywhere.

“There was water coming in through the elevators and down through the stairs,” he said. “It was pretty bad.”

Kidd said the scene was even worse in their apartment. The water had been shut off, but so much water had accumulated above their ceiling that it continued to pour into the apartment. Plaster was knocked off the ceiling.

“It was coming out of everywhere. It was quite surreal,” he said.

While the majority of their property survived the flooding, Kidd said their dining room was mostly destroyed. They are staying in an on-campus apartment during the restoration, which he was told could take four to six weeks.

Student dorms that have flood damage are being repaired first.

“From what I understand, there were a couple of rooms on the fourth floor (that had water damage), but about half the third floor was damaged,” Kidd said.

Drew Onufer, a freshman in the College of Engineering, said his room was hit especially hard as the burst pipe was directly above his ceiling.

After hearing about the flood, Onufer returned to campus to assess his room. He said the damage to his roommate’s belongings was much worse than his, but Marquette will pay for any destruction to personal property caused by the flood that cannot be repaired.

“Looking at the stuff that was damaged, it looked like it broke above my roommate’s bed, not mine,” Onufer said. “Nothing was damaged that badly. (The room) was mainly just really dirty from the broken ceiling tiles.”

Onufer said he and his roommate have to switch rooms during the restoration, but they stayed in Carpenter Tower. Other students whose rooms were directly affected may also have to move out of their dorms for about a month.

Students whose rooms were impacted by the flood were contacted directly by Fereday.