Water damage closes senior center
<p>Barbara Fellows, a volunteer cook helping at the Post Falls Senior Center, serves a meal to Jerry Spreen in a back room of the facility Wednesday following a flood caused by a ruptured sprinkler system.</p>
POST FALLS - A busted pipe has iced the Post Falls Senior Center for two to four weeks.
A pipe in the ceiling above the dining area broke on Wednesday as seniors were getting ready for their noon meal. Activities at the center are canceled until further notice.
"We had 4 inches of water on the floor, so there's significant damage to the ceiling and (laminate) floor," said Alison McArthur, who has been the center's director just three weeks. "We will be entirely closed at least two weeks and maybe as long as four."
The damaged floor is only about 2 years old.
About 25 seniors had arrived at the center when the pipe broke at 11:15 a.m. They were evacuated, and there were no injuries. The seniors who had shown up and paid for their meals were allowed to go back inside, once the building was deemed safe and the water was turned off, to eat in the kitchen as the food had been prepared.
McArthur said the center's insurance is expected to cover some of the damage. She didn't know an estimated cost of the damage.
Fundraisers will likely need to be held to pay for the cost not covered by insurance.
McArthur said the center is in contact with a church to possibly use its kitchen to make meals for the seniors who have home deliveries. The volunteer drivers have indicated they would be willing to keep their routes in the interim.
"We're going to need help from the community, and we'll be developing a needs list as we know more," McArthur said. "Our seniors, especially those who can't get out, are our first priority. For many of them, it's the only hot meals they get during the week."
Damage was done to the main dining hall and the adjacent Dougall room where bingo, exercises and other activities are held. The break was in an area where the two rooms are connected.
Bingo manager Mamie Johnson was setting up for games when the pipe broke.
"The fire alarm went off and, within minutes, water was pouring from everywhere - from the ceiling and through the light fixtures," Johnson said. "It felt like the ceiling was about to fall in on us. I unplugged the bingo machine because I was afraid one of us may get electrocuted."
McArthur said that, while ceiling tiles bulged, none fell down.
In addition to the center's regular activities, several civic and community groups meet at the center.
Jim Lyon, Kootenai County Fire and Rescue spokesman, said his agency has responded to several water flow calls in recent days, including another at the center.
"It happens when we get extreme cold followed by temperatures that get above freezing," Lyon said. "Pipes can freeze during cold temperatures, especially if an area of the building isn't regularly heated. Then the pipes split and, when there's a thaw, that's when we start to get water flow alarms."