Publishers Notes: I just received information that yet another structure - this time in Cape Charles - Coach House Tavern whereby fire sprinkler pipes froze and burst.
Onancock building suffers damage after sprinkler pipe bursts
ONANCOCK, Va. (WAVY) – A fire sprinkler that had burst caused damage to a building on Friday.
The Onancock Volunteer Fire Department were called at around 2:31 p.m. for a report of a building collapse on Hartman Avenue.
When crew arrived, they learned a fire sprinkler pipe had burst in the ceiling of Building A and caused a collapse of the ceiling, with flooding throughout the building.
Crews secured the water and utilities to the building. The building was condemned.
Officials say another building also suffered major damage from a similar incident around 6:52 p.m. and that building was condemned.
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12 comments:
Happened to me a few years back in Salisbury. I lived in a townhouse at the time. My neighbor was a snow bird and in FL. She had the thermostat set on 60°. Around dinner time we noticed water coming from the laundry room. I thought a washer hose broke. I looked and toweled up the water. It was coming from under the trim. Fortunately my neighbor left me with a key and alarm code. The pipe to the sprinklers had froze in her ceiling. She had over 4" of water in her house. Damage everywhere. I ended up with close to $4k in damage and insurance wouldn't cover it. I spoke with the sprinkler company after I got them turned off. Turns out our house builder didn't want to pay the extra money to put an additive in the water to keep from freezing. Boy I hated Salisbury. That was just one more reason.
What is even more worrisome is the fact that the local authorities try and hide such occurrences so that their fire department budgets won't be cut.
Most people aren't aware yet but as more and more homes come on line, because of the new sprinkler ordinance, it's going to wreak havoc. IMHO the sprinkler water damage will exceed any fire damage, and as Star Trek's Spock used to say - the ordinance is illogical.
You can thank Jim Mathias for helping MD legislators enacting this draconian piece of legislation. All of the other eastern shore delegates voted against it except for Jim Mathias.
Why have water in the pipes at all? You can’t tell me it takes longer than a couple seconds to charge the pipes in case the system is needed. Why can’t the source be triggered when the system calls for it??
One of the dumbest ideas Maryland has put on the books. It makes insurance rates higher. I can see it being a requirement in new multi dwelling units but in a residential home is ridiculous. Bob Culver did it right when he fought for a moratorium on the requirement in Wicomico and permits boomed. He really should do it again so builders can get something done. It adds an enormous amount of extra unneeded cost to a new home.
12:21 The system can be designed to do just what you say, however that adds an additional expense to the system and comes with its own problems. The system has to be pressurized with air.
It's time for commonsense people to run for local office. There is a County Commissioner in Somerset County that was elected to a District that he does not reside in. Rather than run against another Good Ole Boy, he pretended to live in an open district.
I gave-up trying to build a new home when I found out that I had to have a residential sprinkler system. And when I checked into the ordinance even further, I found out that there are only (2), I REPEAT, only (2) states in the entire US that requires a residential sprinkler system. One of those was California(where wild fires are rampant) - and guess who is the other State, you got it MARYLAND!
Maryland will never be able to climb out of the 2007 Obama recession with ordinances like this. Personally, I couldn't believe it when I first learned about it. If you are a Maryland resident, you can all but forget about any increase in GDP (Gross Domestic Product) increases. Anyone worth their salt knows that the construction sector is the very first industry that helps to lead a Country, State, and County out of a recession.
I wasn't aware that there was such a law until I read this. How can Maryland officials do this to us? Wicomico is already such a poverty stricken county, this is a death blow to anyone trying to move up, especially for the poor and minority classes.
If you want my opinion, the ordinance is crazy.
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