The family of Rayford Cofer has asked that any donations in his memory be made to the Landmark Baptist Church, 3149 Walters Rd., Creedmoor, NC 27522.

[Posted 8:10 p.m.]

All wings of the LSRC will be open Saturday, May 17, from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Sunday hours will be determined based on the need for additional maintenance work. The decision about Sunday hours will be posted here when it becomes available.

[Posted at 6:07 p.m.]

The LSRC’s A and B wings will be open on Friday until 5 p.m. The C and D wings will close at 3 p.m. to allow workers to initiate repairs to the drain system. The entire LSRC will be open on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday’s schedule will be posted at this site once a decision is reached.

(Posted 9 a.m. Friday, May 16)

The funeral for Rayford Cofer, the Duke master steamfitter killed Wednesday in an accident at the Levine Science Research Center, will be held Saturday, May 17, at Landmark Baptist Church, 3149 Walters Road, Creedmoor.

Visitation with the family will be held from 1 to 2 p.m., with the service beginning at 2 p.m.  Burial will follow the service at the church. Information about donations will be posted as soon as it becomes available.

(Posted 9:10 a.m.)

As previously announced, the LSRC will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday.

[Posted 6:10 p.m.]

“A Generous Friend and a Master Craftsman” is the title of a new Duke Today article in which former colleagues recall the life of Rayford Cofer, who was tragically killed Wednesday in the LSRC accident. “He was a multi-talented individual, an extremely hard worker, very intelligent and had a great sense of humor,” one colleague says. “He’d come up with some of the funniest things.”

The article appears at: http://news.duke.edu/2008/05/cofer.html.

[Posted at 5:40 p.m.]

Duke has lowered its university flag to half-staff in honor of Rayford Cofer, who died Wednesday afternoon in the accident at LSRC.

Photo: Les Todd, Duke University Photography

[Posted: 3:30 p.m., May 15, 2008]

There will be a press briefing at 1 p.m. Vice President for Campus Services Kemel Dawkins will provide an update and answer questions about Wednesday’s accident at the LSRC.

The briefing is for members of the news media. It will be held in front of the North Building, on Research Drive, next to the traffic circle and just north of the LSRC.

he briefing is for members of the news media. It will be held in front of the North Building, on Research Drive, next to the traffic circle and just north of the LSRC.

[Posted at 12:05 p.m.]

The website for Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment is live again. The site had been down as a result of Wednesday’s accident at the LSRC. During this time its traffic was redirected to the Duke emergency website.

The Nicholas School website is at http://www.nicholas.duke.edu.

[Posted at 11:55 a.m.]

The LSRC was reopened at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, May 15. The building will close at 5 p.m. and will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday. No decision has been made at this time whether the building will be open over the weekend. Crews are currently repairing the building’s systems.

There will be another briefing on the building status for students and employees at 3 p.m. May 15 outside the LSRC.

Lab personnel are asked to check the fume hoods in their labs, and to shut off all equipment when they leave at 5 p.m.

Normal sterilization procedures have been suspended and replaced with stericycle procedures. Autoclaves are not working, and biohazard boxes will be placed in the autoclave areas to dispose of waste.

The acid neutralization system is not working in the C and D wings of the building, so researchers may not use the lab sinks. Lab sinks are working in the A and B wings.

There is no steam in the building Thursday and Friday. The HVAC system is working, but the temperature can fluctuate because of the lack of steam.

Bathrooms are working, as are fire alarms, phones and computers.

Normal power is on in the upper floors of the building, and has been since about 11 p.m. Wednesday; some outlets may have been damaged, however. The emergency power system was activated, protecting the freezers and other systems on emergency power.

All of the animals in the basement are safe; researchers are checking on animals in individual labs today.

(Posted at 10:40 a.m., May 15, 2008)

All faculty, staff and students working in the Levine Science Research Center should assemble in the area just outside the building’s Blue Express cafe at 9 a.m. for an update on accessibility to the building.Some areas of the building may be cooler than others, so you might consider bringing a light sweater should the building be opened.

(Posted at 10:35 p.m., May 14, 2008)

The LSRC is now closed for the evening. Employees and students should check this website for updates about the accessibility of the building on Thursday.

(Posted 9:00 p.m., May 14, 2008)

Duke has identified the employee killed in the LSRC accident Wednesday as Rayford Cofer, 63, a master steam fitter and one of the most honored and respected employees in the Facilities Management Department.

For more about Cofer and today’s tragic accident, click here for a longer story.

(Posted 8:20 p.m., May 14, 2008)

Do you study or work at LSRC? Watch this site for updates about the building’s status and when you can return to your workplace.

(Posted 7:45 p.m., May 14, 2008)

The website for the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences at Duke University is temporarily out of service as a result of the accident at the LSRC building. The school’s site is being redirected to this Duke University emergency website until it is restored.

(Posted 7:05 p.m., May 14, 2008)

The following statement was read by Vice President Kemel Dawkins at a news conference Wednesday evening.

Good Afternoon. My name is Kemel Dawkins. I am Duke University’s vice president of campus services.

I am sad to report that an employee working in the mechanical room in the basement of the Levine Science Research Center has died in an accident. Pending notification of the next of kin, we will release the employee’s name.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the employee’s family at this time.

Employees were evacuated from the building after a steam line ruptured shortly before 3 p.m. The incident occurred in the building’s mechanical room. All building systems were shut down and there is a significant amount of water in the basement. The water will need to be tested and pumped out before power can be restarted in the building. We have no other reports of injuries. Employees are being permitted to return to the building to retrieve their belongings.

This is a major research facility, and it houses animals and scientific samples. Initial assessments show that no animals were injured.

(Posted 6 p.m., May 14, 2008)

One fatality has been reported in the Levine Science Research Center (LSRC) accident Wednesday. The name of the victim has not been released. The incident occurred around 3 p.m. The Durham Fire Department is investigating.

(Posted 5:21 p.m., May 14, 2008)