Lightning hit Criser Hall and caused a pipe to burst Wednesday evening. Water flooded the carpets of the first and second floor.
University Police Officer Thomas Busatta said he was in a patrol car down the street by Turlington Hall when he saw lightning strike the corner of Criser Hall. Water shot over the building about 50 feet into the air, he added.
About two to three minutes later, UPD was dispatched because of the fire alarm, Busatta said.
The fire alarms are linked in with the systems and UPD received an alarm about the water flowing, he said.
The lightning that hit Criser Hall broke a line, Busatta said.
He said there is a connection on the roof for the fire department and it appears that was the pipe that burst.
“There’s a lightning rod right next to the pipe up there,” Busatta said.
UF’s Physical Plant turned off the main valve for the building, he said, and the water stopped pouring out at about 8 p.m.
The plant workers had to work on getting the power back on to be able to suck the water out of the carpets.
A physical plant worker told Busatta the area around the pipes is a pressurized system, and the water flows at about 750 gallons per minute.
Wesley Hetrick, a computer programmer who also works at night in Peabody Hall, said he left the area when the fire alarm sounded.
He said he did not see lightning strike even though he works on the third floor of Peabody Hall facing the area where Criser Hall was hit.
