Cold temperatures caused two water pipes to freeze on campus, one causing students to be temporarily relocated, a UK spokeswoman said.

A water pipe in the sprinkler system burst at Donovan Hall and a pipe burst at Funkhouser Building, said Therese Smith with the Office of Emergency Management. Donovan students were moved to Haggin Hall for the afternoon after the fire alarm system went off. They were allowed back in the dormitory after the pipe was fixed, Smith said.

No one was believed to be in the Funkhouser Building at the time of the water pipe break, she said.

The fire department respondent to the report of pipes breaking Saturday afternoon, and the physical plant cleaned up any water, said UK spokeswoman Mary Margaret Colliver. The fire department had left the buildings at about 3:30 p.m. or 4 p.m., she said.

Smith said the unusually low temperatures in the last few days had caused the pipes to freeze. She said she heard similar reports had been received by the city fire department all day.

“When you have temperatures as low as what we have the last few days, I wouldn’t say it’s normal, but it’s not uncommon,” Smith said. “Not everyone’s home has experienced pipes freezing, but it’s not abnormal.”

Ben Crutcher, UK’s associate vice president for Auxilary Services, said UK could not prevent more pipes freezing due to such cold weather.

There is no way to really test for this, and the age of the pipes are usually not a factor,” Crutcher said in an e-mail to the Kernel. “It is usually just caused by the extreme cold we have had.”

Local weather reports indicate temperatures are expected to rise this week.