Prairieview Waterfall

Yesterday we experienced the 8th wonder of the world as the Prairieview waterfall flexed its muscles and sent hundreds of gallons of water into the office area at the school. The recent cold snap and high winds from the west had apparently caused a sprinkler pipe to freeze in the ceiling above the Prairieview office. One of our alert secretaries noted water dripping from the ceiling and alerted the custodian who found a broken T-coupler. In the time it took to say look out and walk to the mechanical room to shut down the sprinkler system and open the water drains, the pipe burst sending a flood of water into the office area. Quick action by our custodian, who used floor mats to create a dam, contained the water to the vestibule and main hallway. A quick response from the Darien Woodridge Fire Department turned off the sprinklers and stopped the flow of water.

Within minutes of the flood, all children were safely and efficiently re-located to the Lakeview building across the parking lot. The teachers and students handled this move quickly and calmly just as we have practiced in the past. In less than an hour, all students were back in class resuming their normal activities.

Custodians from our other buildings pitched in and cleared most of the water from the building. Later in the day, Service Master arrived to treat the carpets and set up fans to dry the impacted areas. They will return later in the week to clean and sanitize the carpets. I hope we don’t have any more of this excitement for quite a while.