Around 11 p.m. on Monday, a sprinkler head on the first floor of Faisan broke, setting off fire alarms and flooding the floor. Residents were evacuated from the building, and first-floor residents must wait for up to a week until they can return to their rooms, according to an email sent by Faisan staff to residents.

The Palo Alto Fire Department cleared the situation at 12:16 a.m. and reported that one student was “displaced” from his room before the rest were “evacuated.”

The sprinkler head broke after an item was placed on it, according to intra-dorm GroupMe messages obtained by The Daily. As of now, Faisan’s sprinklers do not work, according to the messages. Until they are functional and the fire alarm system is reset, first-floor residents will not be allowed to live in their rooms.

The extent of the damage remains unclear, though the message estimated it would cost “hundreds of thousands of dollars.”

First-floor residents were mostly relocated to the second- and third-floor rooms because of the unsanitary nature of stagnant sprinkler water as well as the large dehumidifiers and other equipment brought in to repair the water damage. Though residents were told they could relocate to other rooms through the University or friends’ rooms independently, most chose to stay in the dorm on their own, according to a source familiar with the situation.

Residents can still retrieve items from their rooms and will be notified by email about their room status, according to the email sent to residents.

In addition, the email asked residents to not use the Faisan laundry room and instead use the laundry rooms in Cardenal or Alondra.

Faisan residential assistants declined to comment on the situation, and multiple residents did not respond to requests for comment.

This report will be updated as more details and perspectives come to light.

Contact Berber Jin at fjin16 ‘at’ stanford.edu.