FEBRUARY 18, 2015
HYANNIS, MASS.
The recent bitter cold from Sunday and Monday is causing
water pipe problems.
The Hyannis Fire Department has responded to numerous
residential and business calls reporting water issues.
Deputy Fire Chief Dean Melanson said the commonality in the
calls is pipes froze, burst and released the water.
Melanson said turning the heat too low is a common cause.
“Sometimes at night, or in a secondary home, they’ll turn
the temperatures down low so the heating systems may be producing only a
minimal amount of heat to save money,” said Melanson. “It doesn’t penetrate
into the areas where the piping is and allows it to freeze.”
To prevent pipes from bursting homes should be winterized,
well insulated and properly heated, according to Melanson.
The department has also seen problems in local businesses.
“A lot of times the heaters are on timers and the business,
after hours, will go down to a fairly low temperature,” said Melanson. “When we
get down into the single digits and below zero, the buildings get cold on the
inside fairly easily.”
Source: www.capecod.com