Three apartments at Avalon Darien were evacuated when a pipe on one end of the building burst in the cold weather at about 8 p.m. on Sunday. It was only one incident among several reports of burst pipes that day and the next.
Typical pipes underneath a bathtub in a house (as seen from the floor below).
A steady flow of water was coming out the side of Building 17 at the apartment complex at 137 Hollow Tree Ridge Road, according to a police report. Firefighters from Noroton Heights Fire Department went to the scene.
A closer examination of the leak couldn’t be made because the water had caused so much damage that the integrity of the ceiling was in doubt, police said.
Management at the apartment complex was able to find other shelter for the evacuated residents.
The leak was one of several around town in the past week as temperatures dipped and, on Tuesday, rose again. Extreme cold can result in frozen water expanding inside a pipe, but thawing ground can also move when temperatures get warmer, according to Aquarion Water Company.
Police responded to these other reports involving burst pipes on Sunday and Monday:
- A water main on Mansfield Avenue that was reported at about 5:30 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 14, was fixed by 4 p.m. Monday, police said.
- On Point O’ Woods Road, a pipe burst in the attic of a home. This somehow set off an automatic alarm, resulting in a report to police at 2:07 p.m. Firefighters went to the home and shut off the water. The homeowner planned to get a plumber to fix the pipe.
- Water was flowing from a Renshaw Road home onto the street, a Park Place resident reported to police at 6:17 p.m. Monday. A police officer helped the resident shut off the water to the burst pipe in the garage.