Spate of broken water pipes keeps Saugus firefighters busy

SAUGUS – Saugus firefighters responded to nearly 10 calls for broken water pipes around town since the weekend as several homes and businesses flooded from the recent cold snap.?It?s difficult because a lot of them were businesses,” said Fire Chief Donald McQuaid. “This time of year the pipes will freeze and they won?t notice they?re frozen until it warms up a little bit.”By the time homeowners or business owners notice, it?s too late, said McQuaid.?Then they realize there?s a crack or break in the pipe and the water just goes everywhere,” he said.The spate of frozen and burst pipes started on Thursday afternoon, according to Saugus police, when temperatures dropped into single digits at night. Firefighters responded to Sally?s Plaza on Route 1 for a broken sprinkler line in a vacant unit in the plaza Thursday.Later that day, Maddy?s Lounge and Grill also had a broken sprinkler, and at around 2:30 a.m. on Friday police reported water flooding part of Route 1. It turned out a frozen sprinkler main and a domestic water pipe at the Meineke Discount Mufflers froze and burst, according to the police log.Workers from the Department of Public Works also spent much of the day Thursday repairing a broken water main on Oakcrest Street.On Friday night, a pipe burst in the ceiling of a dentist?s office on Essex Street and on Saturday morning another sprinkler pipe broke at Maddy?s.At around 2 p.m. on Monday, a pipe burst in the wall of a home on Hammersmith Drive, and on Monday night a group home on Stocker Street had to be evacuated when a sprinkler pipe broke in the attic.Finally on Tuesday morning, a caller reported water pouring out of the garage of an abandoned home on Longwood Avenue.McQuaid said people can take precautions by keeping water running “a little bit” and making sure sprinkler rooms have added heat.?That helps,” said McQuaid. “Basically you have to make sure there?s enough heat in the room so the pipes don?t freeze. A lot of times we?re not going to get an alarm until after they?ve melted. It?s conceivable that a sprinkler system could be frozen up and you wouldn?t know it. That?s definitely a problem.”McQuaid said it?s a difficult problem to monitor, especially in vacant buildings.With temperatures expected to reach the mid-50s today and Thursday, McQuaid said it?s possible the situation could “get worse before it gets better” as frozen pipes begin to thaw.?A lot of times we don?t get these broken pipes until later on,” said McQuaid. “I wouldn?t be a bit surprised if we see more.”Matt Tempesta can be reached at [email protected].