Problems at Linn County Courthouse Give Us All An Important Winter Reminder

Each winter we talk about the importance of protecting your pipes as the weather gets frigidly cold, as a burst pipe can cause major damage. That damage is exactly what the Linn County Courthouse is dealing with since a pipe burst late Tuesday.

According to reports, the pipe burst was on the first floor, which caused flooding below, and also disabled heating systems. As if the damage wasn't bad enough, dealing without heat on a day like yesterday is rather unbearable, leaving us very fortunate for only having to deal with the chill of an overactive blower.  To make matters worse, this burst caused an alternate burst at the jail on May's Island, leading to more flooding and no heat. While they were able to get the heat recovered there fairly quickly, courthouse employees spent the day in coats, gloves, and scarves, while utilizing space heaters just to keep warm.  Today brings some relief with warmer temps and assistance from the Linn County Emergency Management Agency’s mobile heating/cooling/generator trailer, as seen above, but it's still a very unpleasant situation. Our thoughts go out to those working in these conditions to make sure our courts stay up and running.

While the malfunction, in this case, does not appear to be frozen pipe related (as the pipes also carry an antifreeze through them), it does illustrate the problems caused by a burst pipe.  Click the button below to review the importance of protecting your pipes, as another round of deep freeze is on its way this weekend.