Sub-zero temps culprit in waterline breaks

DEADWOOD | Sub-zero temperatures followed by a Monday warming spell are to blame for a rash of new water line ruptures at Main Street businesses, officials said Tuesday.

Late Saturday, a 4-inch line serving a sprinkler system burst at the vacant Goldbergs building at 670 and 672 Main St. and gushed more than 100,000 gallons of water before being discovered more than six hours later. That break flooded basements of a half-dozen Main Street businesses.

At 5:30 a.m. Monday,fire crews responded to the Silverado, 700 Main St., when its fire sprinkler system burst near the casinos front entrance, saidDeadwood Volunteer Fire Department Chief Bill Glover.The system was quickly deactivated and water damage was minimal, he said.

At 10 p.m. Monday, an alarm sounded from the closed Eagle Bar, 624 Main St., when a water line serving its fire suppression system burst. The alarm was noticed by a Lead volunteer firefighter working across the street and was quickly reported to police, said Glover.

Police officers and firefighters responded to the Eagle Bar, which is for sale, and called the Spearfish Realtor who had listed the property. When it was determined that he was the only key-holder to the building and was at least a half-hour from Deadwood, Glover said firefighters forcibly entered the building.

The fire chief estimated that thousands of gallons would have been released by the time the key holder arrived, which led to the decision to forcibly open the door to minimize potential damage caused by the water, Deadwood Police Chief Kelly Fuller said Tuesday morning. The key holder arrived about an hour later and was informed of the actions taken and the damages present.

Glover said that when firefighters entered the building, water was pouring from the ceiling as if the sprinkler had been activated from a fire. The fire chief said there was about an inch of water on the floor and his men were able to shut off the flow within 10 minutes. Damage was confined to the Eagle Bar, he said.

At about 6 p.m. Tuesday, water reportedly had filled Stagecoach Gifts, 651 Main St., and was spilling out the rear windows of the building and mixing with five inches of new snow.

According to Don Schmitt, maintenance supervisor at the nearby Buffalo-Bodega, city workers had shut off water to Stagecoach Gifts by 7 p.m.

Deadwood's fire chief said he was not surprised that five days of sub-zero temperatures resulted in new breaks in water lines.

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Sub-zero temps culprit in waterline breaks