I was Astronomical Observatory Coordinator for
Pittsburgh's original Buhl Planetarium and Institute
of Popular Science from 1986 to 1991. On Friday
evenings, we often rented the building to youth groups
for overnighter events. And, of course, the
Observatory would be one of the major overnighter
activities for these youth groups. And, this was in
addition to our weekly Friday evening public observing
session in the Observatory.
So, one Friday evening I was preparing the
Observatory, on the third floor of the building, for
that evening's public observing and overnighter
events. Suddenly, to my shock, a pipe near the ceiling
of the Observatory burst, and water started streaming
into the Telescope Room. Remember, this was a pipe
near the CEILING of the third floor Observatory!
I immediately covered the equipment, as the water
rushed in. Fortunately, the floor of the Telescope
Room is composed of brick, so there would be little
floor damage. However, there was no drain in the
floor, so the water quickly started rising.
I contacted the Technician on-duty, who immediately
went on the roof to find the problem. The problem
seems to have been leaves clogging the storm drain
pipes leading from the roof to the basement. The Buhl
Planetarium Technical Director, the supervisor for the
Technician on-duty, was shocked when the Technician
called him to inform him about where the flooding was
located!
The Technician on-duty cleared-out the pipes. The
Custodian on-duty then cleaned-up the mess in the
Observatory. After a delay of a few hours, the
Observatory was back in operation for the overnighter
event.
Our third floor Observatory flooding event resulted in
no permanent damage. To my knowledge, we did not need
to submit any claims to the insurance company.
So, I do not know if you have determined the reason
for your burst pipe. But, you may want to check to see
if leaves clogging storm drains may be the problem.
gaw
--- HHSDIRECTOR <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Date: Mon, 7 Jan 2008 16:29:11 -0500
> From: HHSDIRECTOR <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: [MUSEUM-L] historic house museum flood
> To: [log in to unmask]
>
> Hello list serve,
>
>
>
> Here's a crisis I've never dealt with before: We've
> had a pipe burst on the
> second floor of our historic house that yielded 2'
> of water in the basement.
> Aside from anticipating loosening plaster throughout
> the flooded areas, and
> the damage to artifacts, I'd be grateful to hear
> from folks who might have
> been through this kind of disaster before. I'd like
> to be prepared for any
> after the fact surprises (knowing of course, that
> each type of episode like
> this is different), that will pop up after I've made
> my insurance claim.
>
>
>
> Thanks for advice and suggestions.
gaw
Glenn A. Walsh
Electronic Mail - < [log in to unmask] >
SPACE & SCIENCE NEWS, ASTRONOMICAL CALENDAR:
< http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/#news >
Author of History Web Sites on the Internet --
* Buhl Planetarium, Pittsburgh:
< http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com >
* Adler Planetarium, Chicago:
< http://adlerplanetarium.tripod.com >
* Astronomer, Educator, Optician John A. Brashear:
< http://johnbrashear.tripod.com >
* Andrew Carnegie & Carnegie Libraries:
< http://andrewcarnegie.tripod.com >
* Duquesne Incline cable-car railway, Pittsburgh:
< http://incline.pghfree.net >
* Public Transit:
< http://andrewcarnegie2.tripod.com/transit >
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