Pete Limpraphanonta wasn't quite sure what to make of the muddy brown water pouring down his Fargo stairwell Monday afternoon.
"Water was coming down the stairs from the third floor - hard," said Limpraphanonta, a sophomore physical therapy major. "We couldn't even get through the side door."
Limpraphanonta's roommate, sophomore civil engineering major Bhavik Vaghela, was just as confused as he returned from class to their first floor room in the seventh building of Fargo Quad.
"I came back and saw our rugs outside," Vaghela said. "I was like, 'What? Is somebody cleaning or something?'"
Vaghela and Limpraphanonta are just two of about a dozen students whose rooms were hit by Monday's flood in Fargo Quadrangle. At 1:10 p.m., an unknown person broke into a fire hose box in the third floor stairwell and turned it on, causing nearly two inches of flooding and substantial damage in the two first floor quad rooms, according to officials.
"The university police are doing a major investigation," said Jeannette Zalba, Ellicott Complex area director and assistant director of college housing.
Zalba said she was unable to comment further because the case is still pending, but noted that residence hall directors are also closely involved with solving the crime.
The students say they don't have a clue as to who might have started the flood.
"I wish I knew," said Limpraphanonta, noting the $500 offered on University Residence Halls fliers to anyone who can identify the criminal or criminals.
"If they find the kids who did it, then they're going to get in big trouble," said sophomore speech pathology major Theresa Gugger, whose computer no longer works as a result of the flood. "If they don't figure out who did it, everyone in the building will have to pay."
Gugger said she was told that if no one is found guilty, there's a good chance the university will not pay for damages since the incident was not the fault of the residence halls. Students with damaged belongings may have to turn to their personal insurance companies.
"Basically, we're going to suffer either way," she said.
Gugger said she has been informed that a hall meeting will occur within the next few days so that hall directors and other investigators can gain more knowledge concerning the crime.
According to Gugger, maintenance workers were quick to bring in wet vacs to alleviate the flood. Limpraphanonta and his three roommates acquired several fans to dry out their room and relocated the bulk of their belongings into the only area of their quad that wasn't swamped.
"We had to move everything into the bathroom," he said. "They told us mold might grow because there's no ventilation and a lot of moisture."
Photo: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki
