All electrical power went out in the northern part of campus on Monday afternoon after a steam line located on the peripheral road between Rabb and the Heller School ruptured. According to University Executive Vice President Peter French, the first indications of the rupture occurred mid-morning, as steam emerged from the ground between Heller and Rabb. The decision to shut down the steam and electricity was made around noon, and a notification was sent out to the Brandeis community at 1:44 p.m.

Academic and administrative buildings affected included Heller, Goldfarb, Rabb, Olin Sang, Golding, Lown, Schiffman and Kutz. Additionally, all residence halls in North Quad, including Scheffries, Gordon, Reitman and Cable were without power.

The incident caused all classes and offices in Rabb and Heller to be cancelled until Monday afternoon. In his e-mail to the Brandeis community, French requested that all computers in the affected locations be unplugged in order to prevent power surge damage as power is restored.

French sent out a campus-wide email alerting the Brandeis community of the North campus emergency power shutdown.

"The facilities people saw that the steam was in the electrical conduits," French said. "[The steam] basically interrupted the flow of electricity to the northern part of campus. What we had to do is shut down the steam and the electricity, testing all the lines and rerouting some of the lines because some of the main electrical feeder lines have been damaged and we're not able to transmit all the electricity we need."

According to French, there was no way to foresee the exact time and location of an incident such as this from occurring.

"Do we know that the steam distribution system is in bad shape?," French said. "The answer is yes. This is the type of thing that can happen when you don't maintain these kinds of systems. That's why we want to do this type of project...so we can stop this from happening."

Director of University Services Mark Collins also said that this event was not easily foreseen.

"We hope that it will not happen again but, given the fragile nature of the systems, until we replace them, the chances are good that there could be [another incident]."

Collins said that 16.8 percent of the recently acquired $25 million bond from Mass Development will go toward updates in the underground maze of steam and electrical lines

"We've got steam lines running perilously close to power lines - that's the root of the problem," Associate Vice President for University Operations Mark Collins said..

Director of Residence Life Maggie Balch said that student accommodation and overall safety in North Quad were her department's main concerns.

"We have put little door tags on their doors with places they can go to use computers, check voicemails, etc.," Blach said. "There is going to be updated info on the bulletin board in the AB lounge in north... we'll let them know as soon as we can."

She said that there is some generated lighting in hallways, and student life is in the process of trying to distribute flashlights.

"It is a threat to safety if students use candles," Balch said. "We have enough people around and enough visibility that I think we're going to be okay."

In another e-mail sent at 8:45 p.m.to the Brandeis community, French announced that power was restored to Rabb, Kutz, Goldfarb and the North Quad residence halls.

Balch praised the facilities department for their ongoing initiative and activity throughout this power shortage.

"We are very lucky to have a facilities department that is very committed to the students and to making things work for them," she said.

Collins said that the problem could have been a great deal worse, and attributed the mitigation of the emergency to Brandeis Electrical Supervisor Joe Castronovo and his staff.

"Thanks to Joe and his crew for catching this early- it could have been a lot worse," Collins said.