The Flood of '06

Early morning phone calls and never good, and it seems like lately I’ve had my share.

Friday morning the phone rings about 5:40 AM. It’s our property management saying they had received a call that there was a major flood in progress in the building lobby.

A major flood in the lobby? You’ve got to be kidding.

So I get dressed and scramble to the lobby, checking the pool on the way down. Water is still in the pool. This is good.

I get to the lobby, and it was a scene from Noah and the Ark. It was like a tropical thunderstorm, only without the thunder. A hot, steamy, jungle rainstorm, INSIDE THE BUILDING! A quick inspection showed that most of the foyer was flooded at least and inch deep, with water dripping from most of the lights. Mail area also had water pouring from ceiling, and the office carpet was soaked, as most water from the mail room was running like a river in that direction. I call the property management and confirm that there is hot water was pouring from the ceiling of the lobby. She says she will call the company that handles our mechanical, to get them to shut off the water.

Security from the Mall arrived at that point, informing me that large amounts of hot water was leaking into the parkade. Did we have problem? I show him the lobby. Houston, we have a problem.

At that point we noticed steam billowing from an open widow on the second floor. It was so thick it looked like smoke. We went to the 2cd floor and found the carpet in the hallway soaked and we could hear water running in the suite. I pounded on the door ‘til my knuckles were red, but did not receive a response. I then went and banged on the apartment next door. They come quickly to the door and in their groggy state of mind they were surprised to see large amounts of water seeping into their suite. I said “This is nothing. You should see the lobby.”

I call the property management again and say we needed to get into the suite with the leak. She said she was calling a locksmith. The neighbor who was getting flooded said “I’m phoning the fire department.” Smart man. I wasn’t associating a flood with firefighters.

The mechanical company arrives and we bang again on the apartment door. Nothing. I’m beginning to think the apartment is empty or the resident is dead in the bathtub.

Seeing as we couldn’t get into the suspected source of the problem determined we should turn off the water for the whole building. I had grabbed the master keys from the office, so we spent what seemed like an eternity running to a half-dozen mechanical rooms between P2, and the penthouse level shut off pumps and closing valves.

Back in the lobby I was concerned that whole ceiling was going to come down as you could see water pooling in the drywall. People leaving for work would come out of the elevator and put up their umbrellas to walk through the lobby. I guess that’s one advantage living in Vancouver – you always have an umbrella handy. I know it rains a lot here, but indoor rain is ridiculous.

The Fire Dept arrived on site and after much more banging on the door they determine they should forceably enter the suite. I call the property management to find that the ETA on the locksmith is 60 - 90 minutes! The Fire captain looks at me: “Do we enter the suite?” and I’m thinking “Why are you looking at me? I’m just a dumb strata council guy!” But thinking that there may be a medical emergency on the other side of the door, I said “You’re the Fireman.” The Firefighter with the fire axe looked excited.

The Capitan called Police to be there for the forced entry. When police arrived they entered suite. It was a literal steam bath! Wet, steamy, and about 35°C! They quickly determined that the hot water supply line for the kitchen sink had burst, causing a flood. I still can’t believe that so much water can come from such a small pipe! All we needed to do to fix the problem was shut the valve off under the sink.

But here’s the strangest part. The resident was in the apartment safe and sound, fast asleep! The apartment was so humid and hot I cannot believe they did not wake up!

So now all that is left is the clean up. It will take weeks. A flood restoration company was on site within an hour, cutting holes in walls, sucking up water, and bringing in fans. Our lobby stinks like a wet dog. Paint is peeled, drywall is wrecked, carpet is stained, and the fire alarm system won’t reset because the detectors in the lobby are wet. Now we have had to hire a security company to provide a 24 hour fire watch.

The moral of the story is replace the plastic water supply lines in your home with the flexible metal ones as soon as possible, or at least wake up when you hear water gushing in your suite!

And don’t call me in the middle of the night.