MEC&F Expert Engineers : FIRE SPRINKLER PIPING HAS BEEN HIT HARD DURING THIS RECORD LOW COLD WEATHER

Saturday, February 21, 2015

FIRE SPRINKLER PIPING HAS BEEN HIT HARD DURING THIS RECORD LOW COLD WEATHER





FEBRUARY 21, 2015

We continue to see a significant number of burst sprinkler pipes.  The reason is that these pipes are located in non-heated areas or at least in areas that are not properly heated.  We have seen even 4-inch sprinkler pipes burst or the joints or couplings failing due to frozen water.  When the water gushes out of these burst sprinkler systems, then a significant amount of damage is caused due to the volume of water released.

STONINGTON, R.I.
The damage caused when an attic sprinkler pipe burst at West Broad Street School on Monday will cost the school system at least $10,000 in repairs.
Superintendent Van Riley reported Friday that the extent of the damage was still being assessed, but that the incident would cost the $10,000 insurance deductible at minimum. More exact calculations will not be completed until next week, Riley said.

In addition to the sprinkler system itself, which was repaired by the time the school opened on Wednesday, ceiling tiles, carpeting, books and computers in three rooms were damaged.

Activities in all three rooms — Meghan Breen’s third-grade classroom, a math intervention room and the library — have been relocated temporarily until repairs are made.

The third-grade classroom will reopen on Monday, according to an email sent by Principal Alicia Dawe, while the other two rooms will remain closed until further notice. Riley, who visited the school on Friday morning, characterized the second floor math-intervention room as in “pretty good” shape, but noted that the assessment remains ongoing.

“We need to make repairs, and we need to do it properly, whatever the cost may be,” he said.

As part of the assessment, school officials have contacted their insurance company regarding the warranty and deductible. The sprinkler system at West Broad was last repaired three to four years ago, according to Riley.

Regardless of the total costs, Riley said he planned to request reimbursement for the expenses from the Board of Finance.

“There is absolutely zero money we can move around,” he explained.

The school was unoccupied at the time of the incident as part of the Presidents Day break on Monday and Tuesday, but reopened as scheduled on Wednesday.
Crews from the Pawcatuck Fire Department, Building Inspector Wayne Greene and Mystic Air Quality responded to the call for the burst pipe on Monday.