A broken sprinkler line caused extensive damage in a Sidney apartment building, forcing residents into temporary accommodations on Monday (Dec. 27).
“The volume of water that flowed through the ceilings and the walls and the like was such that I wasn’t comfortable with them (staying there),” said Sidney Volunteer Fire Chief Brett Mikkelsen.
“So we had to call PEMO (Peninsula Emergency Measures Organization) to facilitate hotels for these folks.”
Mikkelsen said the water line break between the second and third floor impacted between eight and 10 individuals living in the apartment building located in the 9900-block of Third Street.
Mikkelsen said crews responded to the apartment block Monday morning at around 7 a.m. The cause remains under investigation. “This was in a heated apartment building,” he said. “So it (the cold) weather could definitely be part and parcel of it. But until you rip open ceilings and really get to where the pipe failed, I couldn’t say for certain if it was related to the weather or not.”
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It is also not clear how long residents will be out of their building.
Thank you to our dedicated team of #PEMO Emergency Support Services team who have responded to 3 calls for service in the last 24 hours. @SidneyVFire @dns_fire @CSaanichFire appreciate you serving the residents of the Saanich Peninsula. #sidney #yyjnews #inittogether @EmergMgt pic.twitter.com/2GPdjwlWIC
— SidneyVFire (@SidneyVFire) December 27, 2021
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