Burst pipe at St. James United Church

MONTREAL The bride and groom may have to wear their coats on Saturday.

The day before a wedding was scheduled to take place there, it was below the freezing mark inside St. James United Church on Ste-Catherine St. W., at the corner of St-Alexandre St.

The iconic church with its signature pink-brick facade had to go without heat Friday, one of the coldest mornings of the season, after a pipe burst on the third floor, causing water to pour down to the main floor and basement. The basement flood shorted out the 125-year-old churchs original boiler and its burner, which provided heat for the whole building. There was also extensive water damage in a hallway in the churchs eastern section, as well as the vestry a meeting room.

Allen Fuller, director of restoration projects for the church and one of its trustees, said that near 1:30 a.m. Friday, a pipe providing water to the sprinkler system burst in the area between the sanctuarys ceiling and its roof, where there isnt much insulation.

A good Samaritan saw water coming out of the church and called the fire department, he said.

With no heat, and lots of water damage, salvage workers brought in dehumidifiers and portable space heaters.

But because everything is so old, we have to heat it up very slowly, otherwise all the wood around here will split, Fuller said.

While the sanctuary was unscathed, there may be more complications for the church if temperatures dip too low. The churchs organ, which dates back to 1891, cant be exposed to sub-zero temperatures for too long or its wood will break.

In the basement, water flowed over a four-foot ditch where the churchs heating system is located, and spread over most of the floor underneath the sanctuary. By later Friday morning, the water had turned to ice, making the floors slick.

The boiler is one of two in the church, but the other stopped working several months ago, having been damaged by rust. The church might be able to get a temporary boiler, Rev. Arlen Bonnar said. If not, it will have to make do with portable space heaters until a permanent boiler can be found.

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Burst pipe at St. James United Church