When the fire alarm went off in Frederiksen Court Building 33, Maggie Frisbie’s friends thought she’d started a fire.

The sophomore in communication studies was planning to make dinner for her friends Wednesday evening.

Instead, she and her roommate became the heroes who saved the building from severe water damage.

“We saw a huge puddle, and we didn’t know what it was,” Frisbie said. “But then we saw water was flushing out of the door, so we reported it.”

That simple decision prevented major damage and costly expenses, officials said.

A pipe leading into a water heater on the third floor disconnected, causing the water leak, said Mary Beth Golemo, apartment community director at Frederiksen Court.

The water ran down along the walls to the first floor and triggered the life safety system. The life safety system, which includes a fire alarm, detects several safety issues and triggers an alarm.

This is not the first time Frederiksen Court has had problems with water pipes. Earlier this summer, Frederiksen Court Building 73 flooded after a water line broke.

Golemo said the Ames Fire Department and ISU Department of Public Safety responded immediately to turn the water off, preventing further damage.

“I’m thankful for the girls who reported it,” Golemo said. “They could have left without saying anything, but their caring, concern and kindness to come over was really great.”

Custodians have been working to dry out the six affected apartments and residents have remained in the building.

“We don’t want to disrupt the residents,” Golemo said.

She has been keeping Frederiksen residents up to date by sending out e-mails regarding the maintenance.

Randy Monthei, manager of residence halls maintenance, said all of the repairs were done in-house, no new carpet was needed and no personal property was damaged. Only one patch of paint will be redone.

Monthei said the maintenance department has not determined the cost of the damages, but does not expect it to be very high.