At 1:45 PM on Christmas Day, the Chestertown VFC was dispatched to the 100 block of Schooner Way - Chestertown Landing, for a Waterflow Alarm. The involved unit was the community center for this residential complex.
First arriving encountered an audible alarm sounding, with water coming from under the door, and out of other parts of the building. Because the building was padlocked shut with a cable, firefighters needed to force entry into the structure. Once access was gained, they discovered a burst water pipe in a ceiling. Undoubtedly, it’s related to the frigid temperatures we’ve experienced the last couple of days. As a result of the leak, the ceiling in that room had collapsed. Luckily, as this is a community center, no one has been displaced.
To mitigate any fire / safety hazards and reduce further damage, the water and electricity to the building was secured. The incident was turned over to Chestertown Landing maintenance personnel. They will need to call a company that specializes in catastrophic clean-ups like this. We cleared and returned to station after approximately 30 minutes.
Unfortunately, as the weather warms over the next few days, we’re anticipating more incidents like this.
