Purdue expands water mitigation efforts on the West Lafayette campus with new restoration van
Purdue University has expanded its water mitigation and flood response capabilities on the West Lafayette campus through the addition of a new restoration van. The van was provided through a partnership between the Office of Risk Management and Environmental Health & Safety (EHS) to help the university respond more quickly and effectively when water damage occurs.
Funding for the van and its specialized equipment was made possible through resilience credit provided by FM, Purdue’s property insurer. The investment supports Purdue’s ongoing efforts to reduce property damage, improve response times and strengthen campus resilience.
The restoration program is led through EHS by Ryan Tyson, Environmental Safety Services and claims manager, who has served Purdue since 2000. Tyson leads a team of seven staff members who are available 24 hours a day to respond to water damage incidents across campus.
The new van is equipped with specialized tools designed to support fast water removal and drying. It includes an Extreme Extraction Kit featuring a Flood Trooper Vacuum Pump, along with an onboard waste tank, drying fans, dehumidifiers and a portable extraction pump. The system is built to handle flood water, sewage water and carpet cleaning, giving Purdue an immediate response resource for a wide range of situations.
The van is one part of Purdue’s broader water mitigation program. In addition to the equipment carried in the mobile unit, EHS maintains a large inventory of drying fans, heaters, dehumidifiers and other restoration equipment to support response efforts across campus.
Because of the partnership between the Office of Risk Management and EHS and the efforts of Tyson and his staff, Purdue is able to handle more than 80% of water damage incidents in-house without relying on outside vendors. That helps the university lower cleanup costs, respond faster and reduce the amount of damage that can occur before mitigation begins. Faster responses also help reduce the overall impact of water-related losses.
Mark Kebert, Purdue’s chief risk officer and head of the Office of Risk Management states, “This new restoration van reflects Purdue’s continued commitment to proactive loss prevention and strong campus support services. By investing in internal response capabilities and partnering across departments, the university is better positioned to protect buildings, reduce disruption and restore operations more quickly after water damage events.”
