LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — A seemingly nonstop amount of broken water pipes kept Lexington's fire department extremely busy on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
The department responded to about 150 calls related to broken water pipes on Christmas Eve, according to Major CJ Hauz. They accounted for 95% of all calls they responded to.
Official numbers for Christmas Day weren't available when LEX 18 spoke to Hauz, but a different fire department official called the amount "unprecedented."
Crews on a fire engine told LEX 18 in the late afternoon they had responded to 8 or 9 calls relating to broken pipes on Sunday alone. The broken pipes are due to the extreme cold the city has seen in recent days, Hauz said.
"It is very taxing working in extreme cold like this," Hauz said.
At the Dick's Sporting Good's in Hamburg, you could see water falling through the windows of the store.
"A sprinkler pipe burst and there is minor flood damage in the store," Hauz said.
Homes across the city were also impacted by broken water pipes, as well as a church, YMCA, and dorm at the University of Kentucky, where water flowed out the front door of the building and onto the street. In Monticello, 5,000 gallons of water flowed from a burst sprinkler into a library, damaging 3,000 books, Fire Chief Gabe Heatherly said.
To prevent pipes from bursting in your home, Hauz said you should shut off water that goes to outdoor faucets and make sure warm air can reach indoor pipes when possible, such as opening a faucet. In addition, he said it's important you know where your water shutoff valves are, as well as who emergency contacts are, such as a landlord or a plumber.
