With predictions of freezing temperatures this week, Mississippi State University officials have drained portions of the fire suppression systems, making fire extinguishing sprinklers ineffective in newer residence halls in order to prevent similar damage to that which occurred Jan. 7.
MSU’s Crisis Action Team, comprised of members from a variety of functions on campus including housing, MSU police, the meteorology department and public affairs, made the decision to drain portions of the fire suppression systems in newer halls last Thursday for the duration of the single-digit temperatures projected to occur this week. The decision came after similarly cool temperatures caused pipes to burst, resulting in damage to Ruby Hall on Jan. 7.
Sid Salter, MSU chief communications officer, said the newer dorms where the pipes are being drained — Oak, Magnolia, Ruby, Hurst, Griffis, North and Moseley — have suppression systems with newer technology than those in older dorms.
“These new buildings have not been subjected to the temperatures as low as we had Jan. 7 and as we’re forecast to have during this week,” Salter said.
Mike Brown, geosciences professor and Crisis Action Team member, said his role within the team includes providing meteorological information and weather forecasts to university officials. 
“We’re going into probably our third or fourth fairly substantial cold snap of the winter here,” Brown said. “We’ll stay below freezing until sometime Wednesday afternoon. We may poke above freezing then and then back below freezing Wednesday night.”
Brown said he does not expect temperatures to stay freezing into the weekend. 
Salter said the university was compelled to take precautionary measures that would strike a balance between protecting students, faculty and staff and campus buildings.
“Job one is protecting our students and faculty and staff, but we also have an obligation to protect taxpayers’ property,” Salter said.
Salter said the university consulted with the fire department, engineers, architects, student affairs and the housing office to make the decision to drain the most vulnerable pipes — the ones on the building’s top floors — to prevent more building damage. 
Salter said the drainage occurs within the fire suppression systems, which are water pipes that feed the sprinkler system used to extinguish a fire. The electronic fire alarm systems remain intact.
“Those systems remain in place, uninterrupted, and will function during the entirety of this period exactly as they did prior to this. Heat detection systems in these buildings will also continue to be employed,” Salter said.
Mark McCurdy, Starkville Fire Department fire marshal, said MSU and the fire department came to the agreement together, deciding that draining a portion of the pipes in the most vulnerable buildings was the safest thing to do to prevent further damage.
“It’s extremely safe, and it’s not the whole entire systems, and it’s not all buildings,” McCurdy said. “It’s only the third floor and the attic, so in other words, the rest of the building is still completely covered.”
McCurdy also said while the fire suppression systems are not currently active with water, the fire department still has access to the pipes through what is called a fire department connection.
“Even though there is not water pushing through the system right now, the fire department has the ability to put water to the system,” McCurdy said.
McCurdy said the pipe drainage does not violate any building safety codes.
Additionally, Salter said a 24-hour watch program has been implemented, which calls for housing staff members to participate in active fire watch. 
Marcellius Moore, senior industrial engineering major and North Hall RA, said his fire watch duties include participating in hourly walks throughout the dorm from midnight to 8 a.m. to check for any potential fires.
“We walk up and down the halls just to make sure that nothing is really going wrong,” Moore said. “With there being six RAs in the building, we each pick an hour that we go.”
Moore said the fire walk is essentially an RA’s normal duty, but they all come together to ensure their residents safety.
“We’re all involved each night. As opposed to just one RA doing his or her typical round, we all pitch in and help,” Moore said. “That way we know that there is not a fire or anything that is going wrong, and since the pipes are drained, we don’t have to worry about anything busting.”
Moore said communication to residents about the condition of their building takes place entirely on the MSU website. 
Aaliyah Wells, freshman communication major and Ruby Hall resident, said she was not notified about the fire suppression system drainage and she is worried about its implications. She said she fears lives are in danger should a fire occur during this time period.
“If the fire sprinklers don’t go off then how will we be warned? Even if we have the alarms, I feel like water would more suffice than just the alarm,” Wells said.
Nick Fertitta, freshman computer science major at Oak Hall resident, said he also was not aware of the fire suppression draining. Fertitta said the absence of a sprinkler system could pose a problem. He said he is not impressed at the lack of communication he received about the pipe drainage.
“I had no idea, and I know for sure my roommate doesn’t. I know a couple guys that live in my hall, and I’m almost positive they had no idea either. So that’s not too cool,” Fertitta said.
Bill Broyles, assistant vice president of student affairs, said MSU’s number one concern is the safety, security and well-being of its students. 
“I hope that no students felt that we would jeopardize their safety because we would not and never would,” Broyles said.
MSU’s housing department declined to comment on the fire suppression system draining and directed all questions to Salter.
Salter said the pipes will be refilled when the temperatures rise to safer levels. Officials expect the drainage to last one week.
The investigation into the cause of damage to the suppression systems in Oak, Magnolia and Ruby Halls on Jan. 7 is ongoing, according to Salter. He said it is too early to determine whether the flooding was due to a design or building flaw, but the pipe damage has been repaired. Repair to building damage caused by flooding is ongoing.
Salter said it is important for students, especially those living off campus, to take steps to protect their pipes, make sure to have anti-freeze in their cars and dress accordingly during these times of freezing temperatures.
“We encourage all students to remain weather-aware over the next week,” Salter said.