More than 20 Baylor buildings lost power around 9 a.m. Tuesday because of a blown fuse on the overhead powerlines on Seventh Street.
The cause of the blown fuse is not known at this time. Baylor did not lose power from the substation that provides power to the university, but lost power from the overhead line.
Facility service crews worked with electrical contractors to replace the fuse, and that was completed by late morning. However ,the facility staff had to go from building to building to manually reset each building’s power.
“It’s like when you have a fuse blow in your home and you have to manually flip the switch,” said Lori Fogleman, assistant vice president of media communications.
The outage affected the area from James Avenue to Waco Creek and from Fifth Street to Ninth Street. The buildings that were without power were Tidwell Bible Building, Bobo Spiritual Life Center, Waco Hall ,Roxy Grove Hall, Carroll Library, Carroll Science, Armstrong Browning Library, Old Main, Burleson, Draper, Alexander Hall, Memorial Hall, Dawson Hall, Allen Hall, Memorial Dining, Collins Hall, Mary Gibbs Jones Family and Consumer Sciences Building, Stacy Riddle Forum, Harrington House, Harris House, Martin House, Eighth Street Parking Garage, Pat Neff Hall, Neill Morris Hall and Bill Daniel Student Center.
Partial power was restored to all buildings except the Bill Daniel Student Center, Neill Morris Hall, Draper Hall, Carroll Science Building and Carroll Library around noon. Throughout the day students were kept updated via email and text alerts. Full power was restored around 2:30 p.m.
No one was hurt during the power outage, according to Fogleman.
Memorial Dining Hall and SUB dining facilities were closed during the outage. The food was not spoiled, though, due to the dining halls’ commercial freezers and refrigerators that are designed to keep the food at a safe temperature, even with a power outage, according to Fogleman. With the brief interruption in power, Fogleman said that the dining hall operations staff monitored the temperatures in all the freezers and refrigerators and all units maintained a safe temperature.
Professors were told to use their own judgement when it came to holding class or not.
“Until power is fully restored, instructors should use their own judgment regarding their ability to offer effective instruction given their particular classroom circumstances,” according to a Baylor Alert email. “Instructors also should work to notify students regarding these decisions as they are able.”
Axtell freshman Jessica Doyle was in class in Carrol Science Building when the power went out.
“The lights went off and my teacher ignored it,” Doyle said. “We opened up the window blinds and they continued teaching.”
In regards to the power outage, President and Chancellor Ken Starr sent out an email apologizing for the power outage.
“We are painfully aware of how precious class and study time are at this juncture in the academic year,” the email read. “We are deeply sorry for the substantial inconvenience our community experienced today for hour after long hour. Thank you for graciously bearing with us and for your patience and understanding.”
