BURST PIPES AFTER
PLUNGE IN TEMPERATURES CAUSE WATER DAMAGE THROUGHOUT THE DEEP FREEZE AREAS. EXPECT THE WATER DAMAGE TO START SHOWING UP
AFTER THE PIPE THAWS.
LENOIR, N.C. —
It was about three hours after the temperature warmed
above freezing the calls started coming in, such as that from an old furniture
factory in Lenoir.
Firefighters waded through ankle deep water trying to
find the cutoff valve for the sprinkler system that froze up during the arctic
chill this week.
"As it warms up and the freezing water thaws out a
little bit, the water starts to move and we get some of these older pipes to
burst. So we're just trying to get the water shut off to some of these
buildings,” said Battalion Chief Jimmy Farr with Lenoir Fire Department.
In Morganton, it was below ground where city workers had
the most problems. The frigid temperatures this week didn't cause the 6-inch
line to freeze. Instead workers said the drastic change in the temperature
caused the ground to shift, breaking the pipe.
In Hickory, firefighters helped with the mess at a
church after they say a waterline broke in the fellowship hall.
Plumbers said it's not the repairs that cost the most --
instead, it's the water damage from the broken pipe.
"It's the damage. It just runs,” said Scott Minyard
with Minyard Plumbing. “A lot of the floors, the walls and the Sheetrock. Leave
a little water running sometimes. Open the cabinets in the house and let the
heat go in there. Especially on the outside walls."
With temperatures expected to plunge again Friday night
across the foothills, firefighters expect to be busy this weekend.