MANCHESTER, NH – A broken sprinkler pipe on the second floor of City Hall caused considerable damage to offices on all three levels Saturday morning.
Fire crews were dispatched at 9:12 a.m. on Jan. 29 after an alarm activation at 1 City Hall Plaza annex. Engine 11 arrived to find the fire alarm panel indicating a sprinkler activation on the second floor. While trying to gain access to the building, a crew from Truck 1 noticed water coming from a second-floor window above the south entrance of the building.
Upon further investigation, firefighters discovered that a sprinkler pipe let go above the ceiling in a second-floor office. Water supply to the sprinkler system was shut down and drained, and electrical power to the affected offices was disconnected.
Fire crews conducted a salvage operation by consolidating items and covering them with tarps and removing some electronics from the office.
According to Battalion Chief Kenneth Proulx, offices on all three floors below the sprinkler pipe sustained “significant water damage.”
The monetary value of the damages has not yet been determined.
