Southeast campus heats up as boiler malfunctions

A malfunctioning power plant boiler curtailed air conditioning in Southeast Missouri State University buildings Tuesday and Wednesday and school officials said the necessary repairs could last through the remainder of the week.

Campus buildings remained open, but the steam-powered air conditioning wasn't running at full throttle, school officials said.

The campus currently is relying on a smaller boiler to power the cooling system.

"We are keeping air conditioning going essentially at all our buildings," Al Stoverink, facilities management director, said Wednesday.

The university shut down its main coal-fired boiler Monday night after a mechanical malfunction at the campus power plant. The unit was put back into service Tuesday night. But a leaky steam tube forced a shutdown of the boiler again, about 4 a.m. Wednesday, Stoverink said.

"This morning caught us by surprise with the boiler going down," Stoverink said Wednesday.

It was warm in campus buildings Wednesday morning as it took time for the smaller boiler to at least partly cool down the buildings.

With somewhat cooler weather expected the next few days, Stoverink said temperatures in buildings should be bearable.