Three Mississippi State University dorms sustained considerable water damage on Jan. 7 at noon due to fire suppression systems bursting under the freezing weather conditions. 
Oak Hall and Magnolia Hall experienced minor water damage. However, Ruby Hall received detrimental damage when the dorm’s sprinkler system flooded the entire B wing of Ruby, a boys’ wing that housed many student-athletes.  Sid Salter, MSU chief communications officer, said officials estimate the dorm would not be fixed until after this semester.
University officials speculate only the premium dorms were affected because of their more modern sprinkler systems. Originally, around 450 students were supposedly displaced, but the university has confirmed that only about 120 students have been affected. 
Salter said the pipes were flushed less than a day before freezing weather — the coldest temperature the new dorms had been exposed to — resulted in damage. Salter said housing employees discovered the damage and addressed the issue swiftly.
 “The university is currently making assessments on what happened. When they are sure, it will all be revealed to the public,” Salter said. “As to my knowledge, all students’ needs have been met to the best of our abilities.”
Salter said the university responded initially by retrieving student possessions. Salter said that mold was also an immediate concern, and there is nothing to worry about.
“The university caught this early. I don’t think there is an issue with mold because we worked very closely with environmental mitigation firms and made sure to dry the buildings out quickly,” Salter said.
Gene McDonald, freshman and former Ruby resident, said the university was accommodating throughout his transition.
“My first thought was ‘Where am I going to live?’ I had just moved to Ruby before last semester ended, and then this happens. MSU was really helpful though. They told me I had two options: live in an apartment or in another dorm. Even though I chose to live in an apartment, they still called and checked on me. They told me that my dorm wouldn’t be back open until at least next semester,” McDonald said. “Trust me, I don’t mind.” 
Roger Mann, the Starkville Fire Department’s fire chief, said it is too early to determine whether the damage was a result of human error or a rare accident.
“Several things could’ve gone wrong, but assuming fire systems were put up to code, the damage could have been caused by maintenance workers accidently moving the insulation and leaving pipes exposed. It’s still just too early to decide,” Mann said. “In an effort to keep this from happening again, all involved need to be educated on proper procedure and become more aware of the possible repercussions of their actions.”