Colorado Springs firefighters still processing aftermath of 200+ water line breaks during last weekend’s cold snap
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- Many of the more than 200 water line breaks during the subzero temperatures last weekend could have been prevented, a fire department officials said Wednesday.
Capt. Mike Smaldino said that most of the breaks happened to sprinkler heads and interior water lines in schools, apartment buildings, restaurants and other businesses.
A maintenance man at Skyview Middle School said that 8,000 gallons of water spilled from a broken sprinkler head early Saturday morning but fortunately caused only minor damage to the library and two classrooms.
"Those lines tend to be along walls near the outside of buildings where it's going to be colder," Smaldino said. "That's why people should make sure their sprinkler systems have antifreeze if it's required. Make sure walls are properly insulated. Make sure those areas get proper heating and air circulation."
With so many calls for service coming in, the fire department switched to a modified dispatch -- meaning it sent a single crew to respond to a call, instead of the four crews normally sent to be prepared for later emergencies.
"Most of the calls actually came in on Monday, when the weather warmed slightly after the cold weekend," Smaldino said.
He said that when arriving at the scene of a water line break, crews had to find the shutoff valve, turn it off and help property owners mitigate some of the spread and damage from the water.
The fire marshal's office, Smaldio said, now has to perform follow-up inspections on those damaged buildings.
"And those owners need to be more aware of a fire risk because their fire suppression systems are down," he said.
Pueblo is dealing with the same issue but to a lesser extent, said Capt. Woody Percival, and he believes the worst may not be over yet.
"I think we'll see more breaks as the weather warms up," he said. "You may have a broken line and may not realize it because it's still frozen. If you turn your water on and nothing comes out, that's probably the case. If you still have water flowing, let it drip from your faucet to prevent freezing until this spell of cold weather passes."
Percival said that any outdoor faucet that still has an active water line, and even underground sprinkler lines that weren't blown out last fall, potentially could freeze, break and leak -- and it may take some time for people to realize it.
"I'm worried that some people are out of town or on vacation, have busted water lines and have no idea," he said. "If you're out of town and are worried about your home, you can ask a neighbor to find the water shutoff for your home and close it."
