David Chang

Frozen Pipes Burst and Flood Drexel University Apartment Building

An eight-inch pipe burst on the second floor of the Summit Apartment Complex on 3400 Lancaster Ave. in University City, and caused a rush of water to flood the stairwell, sending students scrambling.

What to Know

  • An eight-inch pipe burst inside a Drexel University apartment building, causing flooding.
  • Experts say the frigid cold froze the pipe while the warmup after caused it to burst.
  • Crews are working to vacuum up and dry out the rooms on the second floor.

The big warmup after days of frigid temperatures led to a big mess for students at a Drexel University apartment building.

An eight-inch pipe burst on the second floor of the Summit Apartment Complex on 3400 Lancaster Ave. in University City, and caused a rush of water to flood the stairwell, sending students scrambling.

“The fire alarm was going off this morning around like 9:30,” Brandon Lane, a Drexel University sophomore said. “Woke everyone.”

Cleanup and restoration crews with Servpro are vacuuming up the water. It will take a few days for the rooms on the second floor to dry out.

“We found that probably three quarters of the second floor was flooded with ten to fifteen dorms,” Joe Carminati of Servpro said. “Obviously it went down to the first floor.”

A Starbucks shop and the Urban Eatery, both on the ground floor of the building, are closed due to the flooding. Carminati said pipes often burst when there’s a big warmup following colder weather.

“When it’s five, six degrees, the pipes freeze,” he said. “And then as soon as it gets warm, it starts separating, and this is what happens.”

A spokesperson with Summit Media Relations told NBC10 11 units in all were impacted with water damage. They repaired the sprinkler pipe that burst and restored the residential sprinkler system in the building.

The spokesperson also said they are providing hotel accommodations for all the affected residents until everything is repaired.

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