SAUGUS — Sears Auto Center, which was permanently closed in Sept. 2020, was reported to have massive flooding in its basement.
Director of Health John Fralick said that the town had been notified Monday afternoon that the building had a leak. “According to the reports, there’s close to around a million gallons of water in the basement…It’s going to be an extensive clean-up,” he said.
According to Fralick, both the property owner and Regional Director Eric Worrall, of the Northeast Regional Office (NERO) of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP), have been notified about the situation.
“The previous use of the building would signify that there’s probably going to be some contamination, and depending on what the test results yield, it may be a pump-out situation versus a natural release situation,” he continued.
Reports say the basement has around eight to ten feet of water. Boston Board Up was on the scene Wednesday, tearing up part of the parking lot. The main shut-off switch was underwater, and the only other accessible switch would shut the water off to the whole mall. The crew had to tear into the ground to cut it off at the midway point.
Boston Board Up then spent Wednesday afternoon putting plywood on the doors and entryways.
