Piqua Firefighter Brandon Lavy wades through several inches of standing water at Piqua Central Intermediate School on Christmas Eve, on Saturday, after a pipe burst sending thousands of gallons of water into the building, until Piqua firefighters arrived and were able to shut down the water supply.
Provided photo
PIQUA — As this weekend’s winter storm wreaked havoc on everything from highways to family travel plans, the storm also caused damage to the inside of many schools and business’
Among the most significantly damaged was Piqua Central Intermediate School (PCIS).
Piqua firefighters were sent to PCIS for a water flow alarm on Saturday morning. Firefighters had only recently returned to their station from a call of a burst pipe at Piqua Junior High when the the call came in at PCIS.
First Responders found a burst pipe on the first floor at PCIS and managed to quickly turnoff the water supply, but not before thousands of gallons of water from the sprinkler system poured onto the floor.
Superintendent Dwayne Thompson said that it appears that vents may have frozen in the “open” position, allowing the frigid temperatures from outside to affect the pipe.
Thompson, along with other school officials, family members, and some community members spent hours working to begin the cleanup process.
“We are so grateful to everyone who gave up their Christmas Eve to help,” said Thompson.
A cleanup company from Troy is scheduled to begin removing damaged carpet and materials in order to have the school ready for students to return in January.
Piqua Schools were not alone this weekend. Sub-zero temperatures with wind chill factors approaching -50 degrees saw area fire departments responding to a number of weather-related calls for service, including a reported water line that had burst at Edison Community College.
