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| The water flowed from inside the lobby of the Grand Palace to the middle of the road. How long the water had been flowing is indicated by the accumulated ice to the left of the engine. |
The front end, lobby area, of the Grand Palace suffered extensive water damage sometime prior to the arrival of the Branson Fire Department at 10:45 on Dec. 23. According to Branson Fire Department Division Chief Ted Martin, the department responded because, “Someone had called and said there was water pouring from the building.”
Although there was evidence that water had flowed out of the front and side doors of the Grand Palace and froze, there was no evidence of water actually flowing out at the time. Martin indicated that the water had been shut off.
Looking into the lobby of the building, puddles of water were visible at both ends of the stair case leading up to the second floor and in the middle of the lobby. It was obvious that the entire lobby area including the gift shop, concession and ticket areas were saturated with water.
Martin said the damage appeared to be limited to the lobby area. He suggested the damage appeared to be caused by multiple breaks in the buildings sprinkler system which could have been caused by the extremely cold weather over the past few days. He also pointed out that they found a roof hatch open which was letting a lot of cold air into the attic area.
He went on to indicate that buildings required to be protected by a sprinkler system are required to be monitored. The alarm will go off if the fire alarm or sprinkler system goes off. Martin explained the monitoring provides for early detection, early notification and a quick response.
Martin continued, “Unfortunately this had flowed for a long long time before it was discovered.” He went on to say, “This is a prime case of excessive water damage that wouldn’t need to have happened had we had the fire alarm system monitored.” Martin went on to point out that even though building are not being occupied and used they recommend that the owners keep them maintained as far as fire alarms and sprinkler systems go.
He recommended a minimum temperature of 50 degrees Fahrenheit to protect the sprinkler system. Martin also suggest the 50 degree minimum for two other reasons, one to cause the ambient temperature to go up and help keep attic areas and other areas that might have pipes from freezing and the second to keep electronics systems, such as fire alarms and security systems that could be effected by extreme cold, warm.
Martin indicated that the theatre management was aware of the situation.
Furnished Courtesy of the Branson Daily Independent.
