3:30PM - One of our favorite readers submits some picture from the fire at Stacey Hall? What happened? Not many details yet. But here is what we know is being reported:
Fire and power outage at Stacey Hall. Unknown if there is a fire or not but I had to shut my systems down. Halon in server room discharged.
6:30PM - Looks like it was a power surge.
There was a power outage around 2:30pm which lasted around 25minutes before the electricians showed up and started working on it. There was a power spike, the lights came on briefly, and the fire alarm went off. Everyone went outside and waited, fire trucks and emergency vehicles showed up, and folks were trying to see if critical systems were still online. Eventually they brought all the systems offline.
After standing outside for a while (and some running back and forth to the hospital on my part) we were told we could go inside and grab our things but that we should go home. The Halon gas in the server room had discharged from the power spike, notifying the fire department. Since Halon reduces or isolates oxygen in the air, it would be unsafe for anyone to enter until they checked the oxygen levels in the whole building.
No fire, fortunately. At this time I believe they are working on bringing the affected systems online.
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Tagged as: Charlottesville, University of Virginia, UVA
Wow what breaking news! This gives me a whole new outlook on my already positive view of Cvillain!
Don’t know about this one, but 4 firetrucks just drove down Preston heading in that direction. Anyone?
I hope this doesn’t delay payroll at UVA. And I’m glad I wasn’t trying to drive down W. Main today.
i’m still trying to figure out which of my fellow stacey hall coworkers broke the story to cvillian
yeah, i thought it was a false alarm too. only reason i went outside was b/c the damn fire alarms are so friggin’ loud.
Hah, I never thought I’d see my workplace on Cvillian! Good job folks. Was anyone else wondering if it is really such a wise idea to have a system that removes all the oxygen in the room during a crisis situation?
You prefer water?
I do seem to remember when the hospital decided to test the sprinklers in the hospital, including the server room. That was a pretty interesting situation!
I’m not saying that Halon isn’t a good system to protect our servers, I’m just wondering if anyone considered that maybe there are some significant safety risks that come with it. After all, what if the Halon got triggered some how, or leaked, and there was no alarm? That would suck. Maybe they should have sensors of some kind down there too that indicate lack of oxygen?
Yeah, I only know enough about it to sound dumb. Apparently Halon was outlawed to protect the ozone and the none of the newer gaseous fire suppression systems are ‘ideal’. CO2 is good, but really deadly, whereas Halon was survivable, for humans who decline to leave the server room when the alarm goes off. So other weird chems are now used for rooms normally occupied. Another problem is system maintenance, when the alarms may be off.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bromotrifluoromethane
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaseous_fire_suppression
“numerous deaths from CO2″
But if UVa could run a nuclear reactor in the backyard of the New Dorms until the 1990’s, I guess they can run Halon.
Wouldn’t want any students melting into Scott Stadium, ouch! Next Tuesday night Gravity Lounge will be loving our freedoms…
Anyone posting here will of course be ineligible to run for office, unless you have covered your tracks pretty well. And cash bar, well that’s how the dems do it.
colfer: Is that event invite-only or open-to-the-public? I’ve been trying to figure out where to watch election returns. I’m steeling my liver against the need to drink heavily, depending on the results.
I’m sure it’s open, they probably don’t even hit you up for a donation until you’re all warmed up! I like watching the returns outside on the mall, on the TV screen in the front of the Cville offices next to Snookies, but that is kinda weird.
Proposal: Cvillain election-returns-watching party. Some local joint, maybe? That way we can talk politics without offending the blog’s good name.
We have a good name? No shit! Rock.
I was being generous, lil. Don’t get greedy.
Stanley, I wasn’t being facetious. I can’t believe you misinterpreted my tone of voice.
I think the blog has a clever name, too. That’s what you mean, yes? I suspect I was trying to be too cute by half, in the parlance of our time.
can we please have an election return party? Nothing written and recorded, just our opinions voiced aloud. PLEASE?
Any sporting events that would preclude us from asking the Beer Run folks if we could just hijack their place, for returns-watching & the requisite necessary drinking, depending on results?
I think one of the Beer Run folks lurks/comments here. No? Beer Run dude? You out there?
Mark Warner once came to the cafeteria and dug a full hour’s worth of disco illness (true!). He wasn’t invited, so I figure he owes me one.
speaking of Beer Run, I’m really looking forward to their tasting tonight.