Shaw Hall was evacuated at about 3 a.m. Saturday after a fire alarm sounded and sprinklers activated on the ground floor.

"A sprinkler got broke off on ground east," said Assistant Building Manager Ken Hoffman. "Everything went well for what it was - lots of water."

MSU police Sgt. Jennifer Brown said someone broke into a storage room and damaged fire equipment. Police arrested a suspect but refused to release further information.

"I was in bed sleeping," accounting sophomore April Dickey said. "My roommate and I ran downstairs. It was so cold."

Students reacted to the evacuation in different ways.

Dickey, dressed in her pajamas and a coat, took shelter in Owen Hall.

Outside one of the exits, some male residents sang "Kumbaya" and huddled close to keep warm.

Others jogged up and down sidewalks to lessen the impact of the 13-degree air. Students were allowed back in after 20 minutes.

No-preference freshman Mike Pearce went back to his room to find a mess.

"Water started leaking into our closets," he said. "The water was up to two inches."

Pearce said he later heard a student broke a sprinkler head in the laundry room. The water from the sprinkler hit a dryer which then caused an electrical fire and flood.

Water spread from the laundry room to the terrace and ground floors of the building.

Civil engineering sophomore and ground floor resident Andrew Bates also saw the effects of the water when he tried to return to his room.

"I was talking with friends down the hallway when the alarm went off," he said.

Because the hall had many fire drills last semester, Bates thought it was another test and went back to his room, but was stopped by two inches of water.

Another alarm sounded about an hour later but was turned off. Residents did not evacuate a second time.

Water was still present in the laundry room at 9 a.m. Saturday and stains from the water could be seen on the walls and the carpet of the ground floor hallway.

Fans were set up to air out the carpet and many rooms had water seep into them.