Building Set to Reopen After Flood

A state building in Concord, N.H., that was closed after pipes froze and burst over the weekend will re-open Wednesday, but the Public Health Laboratory will remain closed until further notice.

The building housing the Departments of Health and Human Services and Environmental Services was damaged by flooding over the long holiday weekend.

Officials said Tuesday that most staffers should return to work Wednesday. Those who work in the laboratory's radiological health program will be temporarily relocated, while other lab workers will be contacted individually.

Republican House Speaker Bill O'Brian blamed the situation on what he called Democratic Gov. John Lynch's "shoddy management practices." Lynch's spokesman called it partisan politics at its most absurd to blame the governor for frozen pipes in January.

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School Fire Causes $600,000 in Damage

A fire at a San Diego elementary school has caused an estimated $600,000 in damage.

Classes have been canceled Tuesday at Alice Birney school in the University Heights neighborhood.

The fire was reported at around 11:45 p.m. Monday. It took about 50 firefighters less than a half-hour to douse the fire.

No one was injured but the cafeteria and other school areas were damaged.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

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1/17/12 Lindenhurst Weather Forecast

Late Afternoon: Occasional rain. High near 47. Southwest wind around 17 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

Tonight: A chance of rain, mainly before 8pm. Cloudy, then gradually becoming partly cloudy, with a low around 37. West wind between 15 and 17 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 39. Breezy, with a northwest wind between 17 and 22 mph.

Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 22. North wind between 9 and 15 mph.

Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 37. North wind 5 to 11 mph becoming south.

Thursday Night: A chance of rain showers before midnight, then a chance of rain and snow showers between midnight and 3am, then a chance of snow showers after 3am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 27. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 35.

Friday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 28.

Saturday: A chance of rain and snow showers. Cloudy, with a high near 40. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

Saturday Night: A chance of rain. Cloudy, with a low around 36. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Sunday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 48.

Sunday Night: A chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 39. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Monday: A chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 51. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Monday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 40.

Tuesday: Partly sunny, with a high near 49.

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Pipe Burst Floods Library

Although closed for Martin Luther King Day, Fletcher Free Library in Burlington is busy with crews working to stem water damage from an attic plumbing break Sunday morning.

City officials said the library would open as usual Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. -- but it is likely that some sections will remain off-limits to patrons.

Library Co-Director Robert Resnik said a substantial portion of the children's collection, located in the older portion of the library, suffered from the incident.

"Between one and two thousand books got really soaked; a lot of water was released over a short period of time," he said.

Resnik said until more is known about the extent of the damage, it would be impossible to estimate its cost.

Library workers, arriving early for a Sunday shift, noticed the water about 8:30 a.m., and began moving vulnerable books away from the walls and spreading tarps, he added. The irreplaceable local history section was spared.

"This could have been much, much worse," Resnik said.

Director of Public Works Steven Goodkind said a water pipe associated with the building's heating system broke in the attic space above Resnik's office, sending sheets of water through and along the building's inner walls. The precise cause of the break is being studied, he added.

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Sprinkler Pipe Bursts, Floods Businesses on Route 106

A sprinkler pipe that burst caused flooding damage at three Route 106 businesses on Monday, a fire official said.

Firefighters responded to the Chili Head Barbecue Co. at 320 West Center St. at 1:26 p.m. Monday after receiving a box alarm, Fire Capt. Ken May said.

“They had a frozen sprinkler pipe that burst and it flooded out the restaurant,” May said. “It caused damage to the restaurant, to the dry cleaner and the nail salon next door.”

He said several inches of water flooded the restaurant after after the pipe, located above the ceiling, burst.

May could not estimate damages to the businesses. He said the restaurant would likely be closed for a few days for repairs.

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Frozen Pipes Burst, Flood Maryland Senate Building

An old pipe burst in the William S. James Senate office building Monday afternoon, flooding a slew of offices and prompting the Department of General Services to temporarily shutter the building.

Thirty-five of the state's 47 senators have offices in the building, and staff members were moving equipment out of offices on the fourth floor Monday afternoon. The pipe failed on the west side of the fourth floor, where many GOP members have their offices.

Sam Cook, a director at the Department of General Services, said the building will reopen Tuesday morning. Three senate offices took the brunt of the damage and will be closed for a longer period of time.

Cook said that a 3-inch water pipe connected to the building's sprinkler system rusted out and ripped open around 1:30 p.m. Monday afternoon. "Most of the damage was just ceiling tiles dropped and the floor is wet," Cook said. He said there was a restoration company on site Monday evening.

The Georgian-style James building, built in 1938, is the older of the two Senate office buildings. Most of it is set aside for individual senators’ offices, while the hearing rooms and committee offices are in the Thomas V. Mike Miller Building.

Sen. James N. Robey, a Democrat from Howard County, said his first floor office was spared, but he saw the leak. "It was like a waterfall coming down the elevator shaft," he said. He noted that his socks were wet from walking around the building.

Robey said the pipe that burst was part of the sprinkler system, and was told that the building had to be evacuated since the fire suppression system was no longer functioning.

The Maryland General Assembly began its annual 90-day session last Wednesday. Lawmakers are expected back in Annapolis Monday evening for a session that starts at 8 p.m.

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Fire Damages Homes in Albany

A pair of overnight fires ripped through homes in Albany and Troy on Monday, displacing 30 people from their homes.

In Albany, a two-story wood-frame row house at 183 Sherman St. was heavily damaged by a blaze that broke out at 3 a.m., Albany Fire Department Battalion Chief Bill Moore said.

Six families live in the home and a building next door that also was damaged, but everyone who was home was able to escape safely, Moore said. Firefighters had the fire extinguished by 3:30 a.m.

"The damage to the home is very extensive," Moore said.

It's too early to tell whether the building will have to be razed, Moore said. A cause has not been determined, but the fire is not believed to be suspicious, Moore said.

The Red Cross said it is aiding the 14 adults and 13 children who were forced to leave their Arbor Hill homes.

In Troy, a home at 27 24th St. was badly damaged by a fire that began just after midnight, Troy Fire Chief Thomas Garrett said.

The fire was contained quickly, but the blaze tore through the two-story house and caused heavy damage. Three people live there, but there were no injuries, Garrett said.

Those forced out of the home are receiving help from the Red Cross as well.

The Troy blaze was the fourth major fire in the city since Friday. The Flavour Cafe at 230 Fourth St. was badly damaged by a suspicious blaze that broke out around 1 a.m. Friday. Investigators are still trying to determine the cause of that fire, Garrett said.

At 2:45 a.m. Friday, firefighters were called to 871 River St. for a small fire in a vacant building without electricity. Garrett said the fire was caused by a squatter using a candle.

Firefighters were still at the scene at 3:45 a.m. when a call came in for a blaze at 8 Cragin Ave., another vacant house with no electricity.

Garrett said the fires are not believed to be related. No serious injuries were reported in any of the blazes.

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