APSU building floods overnight, causes major damage

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – One of the buildings on Austin Peay’s campus flooded overnight Wednesday and continued through Thursday morning.

A cooling coil cracked in a rooftop air handler at the Kimbrough Building, which holds the College of Graduate Studies and the College of Business.

Officials think the pipe burst was the direct result of the extreme overnight temperatures, but contributing factors are still being investigated, according to Bill Persinger, executive director of Public Relations and Marketing at APSU.

Around 1:52 a.m., cameras caught significant water filling the first floor lobby, so the break happened sometime prior to that, according to Persinger.

Classrooms on the east side of the first and second floors, the Graduate Studies offices and the College of Business departmental offices were the main areas affected.

The faculty offices on the west side of the lobby appear to be unaffected, according to Persinger.

The central point of the leak was directly above the Graduate Studies offices, causing water to come through the roof.

The water spread through the east side of the second floor then migrated into the first floor at several locations including the center stairway.

According to Persinger, the university will be able to use all the classrooms in the building for classes on Jan. 20. Time lines to reopen the Graduate Studies office haven’t been determined yet.

Staff in the College of Graduate Studies and the College of Business will be temporarily located on the second floor of Miller Hall. Anyone needing to reach staff in the Graduate Studies Office can call 931-221-7414 or email them at gradstudies@apsu.edu. To reach staff in the College of Business, please call 931-221-1283 or ruppw@apsu.edu.

Katelyn Clark, 245-0248

Leaf-Chronicle Intern

kdclark@theleafchronicle.com