Facilities Division Keeps Campus Running During Winter Break

While NC State’s campus was far from mind over winter break for most of the Wolfpack community, 104 Facilities Division employees remained on call, responding to the impacts of extreme cold temperatures on campus buildings and grounds.

In addition to winter weather complications of frozen pipes and fallen trees, the on-call employees were responsible for maintaining heating systems in buildings, waste removal, and supporting construction projects and ongoing research operations. These dedicated individuals worked tirelessly to provide critical support and a safe environment on campus.

Here are just a few highlights of Facilities employees going above and beyond this winter break:

Emergency Response to Building Issues

• Raul Rosado led a Building, Maintenance & Operations team that responded and repaired refrigeration issues for dining facilities, frozen sprinkler lines and crucial HVAC systems to research labs on campus.
• Andre Young, Chamita Jackson, Derek Pender, Maylon Wiggins, Chris Pettiford and Marla Brown of Housekeeping performed water clean-ups at five campus buildings.
• Mark Tate of the Building, Maintenance & Operations’ Fire Systems Shop responded to 42 separate incidents, preventing major damage to many buildings on campus.

Utility Plant Operations

• Utilities and Engineering employees Jim Fenske and Bill Ferrell ensured campus utility plants operated normally even amid sub-freezing temperatures, and James Hartzog and Bill Stuart rotated 12-hour shifts to provide 24/7 operations for utility plants, including the production of steam for campus buildings and fuel delivery.

Partner Support and On Call Administrators

• Alan Burcham and four team members provided consistency to campus partners and support to each front-line group that responded after-hours.
• James White, Andrew Welch and Allen Eason were on site to maintain emergency generators for capital project support and power outages during the cold weather.
• Brent Clayton supported project excavation activities by investigating and confirming utility lines and performing required inspections for wastewater collection systems.

This work represents the efforts of dozens more Facilities Division employees who went above and beyond this winter break. The university is grateful to all of the employees who keep campus operational 24/7, even during the toughest conditions.