When the sprinkler pipe burst, a torrent of water, drywall and insulation cascaded onto the resident’s bed, dresser and wheelchair.
Another sprinkler system leak
Six Jamie’s Place residents were displaced after the sprinkler system burst in the ceiling of one of the bedrooms, showering the furniture and floor with a deafening cascade of water, large chunks of drywall, and insulation on Thursday afternoon (Feb. 2).
Fortunately, residents were still in the dining area after lunch, so the room was empty and no one was injured, Jamie’s Place Executive Director Rana Clarke said.
The leak occurred in the same room where a sprinkler pipe ruptured just over a year ago, on Jan. 7, 2022.
“It’s not lost on me that it was Groundhog Day when it happened,” Clarke said. “This is ground zero — exactly the same room,” she said as she pointed out the damage.
Jamie’s Place is going through the assessment process to find out “how on earth this could have happened again, and to make sure it doesn’t happen again,” Clarke said. “Right now, we’re still in the shock-and-awe phase.”
In a video Clarke shot during the disaster, the blown-in insulation looked like an artificial blizzard as it cascaded from the ceiling, leaving deep snowdrifts on the furniture and floor. The bed, a dresser and a wheelchair were covered with debris.
Last January, the leak came from a crack in the sprinkler pipe, but this year there was a 2-inch hole where water came gushing out, Clarke said. Although both ruptures occurred in the same ceiling, they weren’t in the same spot.
Jamie’s Place won’t know the cause of the problem until they get results of detailed inspections. But Clarke and other staff speculate that the pipe froze and ultimately burst. At the end of January, temperatures in Winthrop dropped to 3 below zero, with highs in the teens, although it had warmed up by Thursday, with a low of 8 and a high of 24 degrees, according to the National Weather Service in Spokane.
The kitchen cabinets are intact. “The disruption is the part that makes my heart sad,” Jamie’s Place Executive Director Rana Clarke said.
Quick response
Jamie’s Place operates two adult family homes in Winthrop. Staff quickly evacuated residents to Mountain View, their facility next door. Three of the residents are living there while repairs are being made, and the other three have been moved to a family-home-care facility in Brewster operated by a former Jamie’s Place caregiver. The residents are all doing well, Clake said.
“No one was in the room at the time — it’s a miracle no one was injured. But there’s lots of inconvenience,” Clarke said.
Fortunately, several Jamie’s Place’s caregivers are able to work in Brewster, providing some continuity, although it’s a longer trip for families to visit. A family member launched a Meal Train campaign, so friends and family are helping deliver food, relieving some of the burden on the staff. “The disruption is the part that makes my heart sad,” Clarke said.
While being uprooted would be difficult for anyone, it’s especially traumatic for the Jamie’s Place residents, some of whom have dementia and don’t understand what happened, Clarke said.
Three of these residents were also displaced last year after the sprinkler system broke. Some stayed with family members and others were moved to other facilities. Because of the extent of the damage and supply-chain delays, it was three months before residents were able to move back in, Clarke said.
Because damage is less widespread this year, Clarke hopes repairs can be made within six weeks. Supplies may also be easier to obtain — in fact, the replacement drywall was delivered on Monday (Feb. 6), she said.
Extensive damage
In the chaos of the leak and clean-up, Coco, the resident cat at Jamie’s Place, disappeared and hadn’t been found as of Tuesday. Anyone who spots the young tortoise-shell cat should call (509) 996-5964, email jamiesplacenursing@gmail.com, or bring Coco to the upper house.
When the pipe exploded, the water flowed out of the bedroom into two neighboring rooms and the common area near the kitchen. “You could hear water rushing so loud—– it’s crazy,” Clarke said. “It was a tremendous stream of water.”
Last year, they initially feared the roof was caving in and rushed to evacuate people. This year, there were more employees in the building to help. They also had the time — and the experience — to know to turn off the water and power right away, which minimized the extent of the water damage, Clarke said.
Destruction was so widespread last year that they had to replace floors throughout the building, as well as kitchen cabinetry. This year’s damage is confined to three of the six bedrooms, plus the floor in the main gathering space, the laundry room, and a staff bathroom. The kitchen cabinets and appliances are intact. The furniture in the room with the leak — including a hospital bed and lift chair — is probably not salvageable, Clarke said.
A dozen firefighters from Okanogan County Fire District 6 arrived almost immediately on Thursday afternoon and helped dispose of the wet drywall and insulation. They used massive squeegees to get water out of the building, helping to contain water damage.
The firefighters spent about two hours helping with the initial disaster clean-up, District 6 Chief Cody Acord said. By turning off water and power right away, Jamie’s Place staff prevented a lot of damage, he said.
A water-mitigation company arrived within an hour and set up large heaters and fans to dry the spaces over the weekend. Temporary fiberglass insulation has been stuffed in the ceiling. Jacob Gates, the building official for the town of Winthrop, was also there on Friday to inspect the premises, Clarke said.
Jay Neal, the project manager who’s been working on a tiny-home project to house Jamie’s Place caregivers, is helping coordinate repairs and remediation. He’s also communicating with contractors, including the remediation firm and the companies that installed the sprinkler system and insulation. “There are 50 different strands of what we need to coordinate,” Neal said.
The company that installed the sprinkler system was due to arrive on Monday (Feb. 6). That firm will do an initial repair this week so they can reactivate the fire-suppression system, Clarke said. The sprinkler system is tested annually and was tested in the fall, Clarke said.
Community members have stepped up in many ways. Methow At Home volunteers are cleaning rooms and gathering residents’ belongings to deliver to their temporary homes. Last year, the Methow At Home volunteers helped with the reconstruction, wiring and plumbing.
Repaired last year
Last year, the sprinkler-system company repaired the broken pipe and rerouted it to avoid future problems, Clarke said. Jamie’s Place got a certification of completion from the firm when they finished the work. The repair was also inspected by Gates, the town’s building official.
Since the pipes are in the ceiling, there is insulation above them, below the roof, plus more insulation beneath the pipes, Clarke said. A separate company handled the insulation. Jamie’s Place was supposed to get photos of the insulation after last year’s repairs, but the ceiling was closed up before they got the pictures, Clarke said.
Jamie’s Place intends to have the repairs evaluated by an independent third party. They will also develop a plan to prevent the problem from happening again, Clarke said.
The town of Winthrop will review the repair plans. Depending on the nature of the work, it may require a permit, Winthrop Permit Administrator Amber Williams said. Last year, the sprinkler system was repaired, but the basic system wasn’t redesigned. Since this leak occurred in another part of the same ceiling, the system may require modifications, which is part of what the town will evaluate, she said.
The insurance adjuster for Jamie’s Place inspected the building over the weekend. Last year, after a $1,000 deductible, all repairs were covered by insurance, Clarke said.
