Imagine you are playing soccer in your hall with some friends on a Wednesday night. Your friend carelessly kicks the ball and it hits a sprinkler, which breaks and starts spraying water everywhere.
Covenant College is on top of a mountain, so most of the full-time staff live at least twenty minutes away. Life doesn’t stop when the workday ends, and neither do emergencies, which is why the Facilities department has put together the Facilities Flood Response Team.
According to Amy Buck, Assistant Director of Facilities Management, this team has been operating for over twenty years and is generally made up of five to eight facilities student workers. This team is directed by Phillip Hartwell, Facilities Services Assistant Supervisor.
The department recruits for this team by “approaching student employees who are already trained and are proven to be responsible,” Buck says. “It’s not a super formal process.”
According to Buck, the after-hours service is used about once a semester. The last serious call was about two years ago, when a water pipe burst in the library. Because the student team was able to respond immediately, the carpet, and more importantly the books, were saved from irreparable damage.
While the after-hours emergency responders have not been called for some time, emergencies still arise during the day and student workers are called upon to respond. Elijah Bruce, ’ 28, who joined the emergency team his freshman year, has been called up while he was already on the clock for facilities.
“My supervisor told me to wrap up my current task and come down to the gym.” Bruce said. “There was a sewage leak in one of the bathrooms.”
Bruce cleaned up the mess once maintenance fixed the leak.
This team doesn’t just deal with flooding. According to Buck, they “deal with emergencies that require cleaning up.” For example, if someone vomits in the Carter lobby, this team will be called upon to take care of it. Whether there’s a leak in the bathroom or a spill in the hall, the Facilities Flood Response team will be there.