Suitemates of Frances Deschenes, a freshman in parks, recreation and tourism, had a rude awakening at 10:38 a.m. Friday.

As a friend, who she requested remain nameless, was climbing into her lofted bed, his pant leg triggered the sprinkler system of her ninth-floor Metcalf Hall suite.

“We were just hanging out and the sprinkler got caught,” Deschenes said. “The water started flooding my room.”

Fire Marshal Bill Stevenson said there was “no horseplay.”

“It was an accident,” Stevenson said. “Those things happen.”

It took seven minutes for personnel to halt the stream of water, leaving an estimated 465 gallons of water in the suite, according to Stevenson. The aftermath was a suite soaked in smelly, black water.

“Our guys had to get there and verify that there was no fire,” Stevenson said. “Seven minutes is a good time for how tall of a building that is.”

Whitney Robertson, a suitemate of Deschenes and freshman in parks, recreation and tourism, described the event as “complete chaos.”

“Water was spraying out everywhere,” Robertson said. “It was black water — dirty black water.”

After moving Deschenes’ laptop to a safe location, Robertson said she wedged a towel between the bottom of her room’s door and floor.

“I saw it on a Lifetime movie,” Robertson said. “It saved our stuff.”

Across the hall, Leigh White, a sophomore in the CALS, said the incident interrupted a midmorning nap with her roommate.

“We heard stuff going everywhere and people were screaming,” White said. “We went outside and the water was just gushing.”

White said her primary concern is her computer because “water came out of it” when it was moved from the floor.

Robertson said the suite probably suffered “at least a couple thousand dollars’ worth” of damage in terms of clothing and other home goods.

Kathleen Ruppe, associate director of University Housing for Central Campus, said the University will only take care of “structural damage.”

“They are encouraged to have home owners’ or renters’ insurance,” Ruppe said. “In their terms of agreement, it clarifies that they take care of their own personal belongings.”

Ruppe added that the seventh and eighth floors also experienced some water damage, but that “it wasn’t like a flood that came from the ceilings.”

Stevenson said it is doubtful the clothing in the suite was ruined and it “should not be an issue,” but that moisture should be removed from everything as soon as possible.

“It’s very important to get the clothes washed with a good detergent,” Stevenson said. “Wash everything a couple of times.”

Ken Kretchman, manager of industrial hygiene for Environmental Health and Safety, said sometimes a protective cage can be secured around sprinklers similar to the ones in Metcalf.

“It would be a good idea to prevent repeat occurrences from happening,” Kretchman said.

Stevenson said the University is “not required by code” to take such measures.

Robertson said the stream of water was painful when hitting her skin.

“It hit us in the face,” Robertson said. “It was coming out of the sprinkler so hard.”

The apparatus typically used to break up the pressure of water was knocked off when the sprinkler head was broken, according to Stevenson.

“When he broke it off, it was a half-inch solid stream of water splattering everywhere,” Stevenson said.

All things considered, Stevenson said everybody involved did an “outstanding job — including the students.”

He said this can also serve as a valuable safety lesson.

“They really need to understand the importance of life safety devices,” Stevenson said. “It’s a very important piece of equipment.

The University is in the process of assessing damage and is “here to support them in any way [it] can,” according to Ruppe.