Student Union | Photo by Grace Ramsdell | The Wright State Guardian
Wright State University (WSU) experienced campus-wide power outages causing closures and class cancellations Tuesday. The outage is caused by an electrical fire in the main electrical room located in the Student Union.
Electrical Fire
“We had some sort of short or fire—we are trying to figure it out—that caused smoke in that [main electrical room] and that smoke triggered the water sprinklers and when that happens it messed with the equipment. There was a cascading effect out to the power substation on campus,” Seth Bauguess, WSU director of communications, said.
In addition to smoke damage, the Student Union sustained water damage due to the sprinkler system staying on until the damage was recognized.
Maintenance crews are working to resolve the issue yet; there is no timeframe to reopen the Student Union because the extent of damage is unknown.
“No, there is no timeline. I don’t think [maintanance crews] know enough to speculate,” Bauguess said.
It is unknown the total cost of damages or resources lost inside the building. No injuries have been reported, according to Bauguess.
The Outage
The outage, originally occurring in the late hours of Aug. 23, continued into Tuesday morning. Buildings affected by the outage included Hamilton Hall, a residence hall, and most on-campus buildings.
Buildings not impacted include Mini U, the Nutter Center, Wright State Physicians, Campus Services and Residence Life and Housing buildings other than Hamilton Hall, according to the university.
According to a campus-wide alert, power has been restored to all affected buildings except the Student Union, Joshi Research and the Student Success Centers. These buildings are effectively closed until noon Tuesday.
In-person classes and activities in Joshi and the Student Success Center are set to resume Tuesday afternoon.
According to the campus alert and Campus Recreation email, all in-person classes, activities, and fitness programs in the Student Union are canceled due to the closure of the building.
Remote operations are not affected by the building closures and continue as normal.
