The Engineering Research Center's north end will be closed until Tuesday after water used to extinguish a fire on the fourth floor caused considerable damage, University officials said.
Areas of the four damaged floors will begin opening as early as 8 a.m. Thursday, ASU spokeswoman Julie Newberg said.
A single fire sprinkler discharged on the fourth floor after a charging laptop inside of a backpack caught fire, said Lawrence Miller, assistant dean for Engineering Technical Services.
This caused water leakage to the bottom floors, he said.
About 30 percent of the building was affected by the incident, mostly carpets, with two-thirds of the damage on the fourth floor. Floor barriers protected the south end of the building, Miller said.
Elevator shafts in the north end will take longer to fix and will not open for at least two weeks, Miller said.
Emergency Restoration Experts, a private building repair company, is running large tubes throughout the building to pump dry air to get rid of any moisture and possible mold build-up, he said.
The company had repaired water damage in the same building about 10 years ago, Miller said.
University maintenance personnel are providing escorts through the building for faculty and students to get any of their needed belongings out of the building.
Miller said there is not yet a cost estimate as maintenance staff is still assessing the damage.
Reach the reporter at sraymund@asu.edu
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