— by Eric Francis, for Daybreak

White River Junction, VT 8/16/22

A broken water main poured thousands of gallons of water into the basement of the Gates Briggs Building late Monday afternoon, a calamity that will leave a mix of about 20 downtown businesses and offices without power through at least Tuesday and perhaps longer.

The 132-year-old former Gates Hotel building is home to several retail shops, a postal substation, the Tuckerbox and Piecemeal Pies restaurants, and the offices of the Windsor County States’ Attorney and CATV public access television, among others.

A stream of water (lower left) pours into the rapidly filling basement of the Gates Briggs Block on Monday afternoon causing furnishings to float around. Eric Francis photo.

A stream of water (lower left) pours into the rapidly filling basement of the Gates Briggs Block on Monday afternoon causing furnishings to float around. Eric Francis photo.

By the time the situation was brought under control early Monday evening the entire basement of the three-story brick structure, ranging from the Revolution clothing store on the corner of North Main and Currier Streets clear around to the Than Wheelers Tavern space on the South Main Street side, was waist-deep in brackish water.

The problem was discovered around 5 p.m. by Hartford firefighters who were responding to several fire alarms that had been tripped throughout the block.

Hartford Fire crews blocked off North Main Street during the incident on Monday afternoon. Eric Francis photo.

Hartford Fire crews blocked off North Main Street during the incident on Monday afternoon. Eric Francis photo.

Crews were able to open a door on the back side of the building and both hear and see water splashing down into a space near the basement sprinkler control room, which had been an underground pool hall in the 1960s. They were unable to see the exact source of the leak.

Both the North and South Main Street sides of the Gates Briggs Block had been torn up in recent months for a round of heavy reconstruction that included the installation of brand new water mains, fire hydrants, and storm drain basins around the building.

Emergency responders said that while they simply couldn’t tell yet exactly what had broken, they doubted it was any of the brand new pipes or valves the town had installed under the street—but it is possible all of the vibration and activity weakened something just inside the adjacent block and led to it failing on Monday afternoon.

Hartford Department of Public Works members found where the shut off valve had been paved over by the recent roadwork, dug it out, and cut off the flow of water. Eric Francis photo.

Hartford Department of Public Works members found where the shut off valve had been paved over by the recent roadwork, dug it out, and cut off the flow of water. Eric Francis photo.

“There’s no question that’s the one,” Hartford Fire Captain Jack Hedges said as a water department crew started turning off a valve under the street in front of the Phnom Penh Sandwich Station (the former Polka Dot Diner). “Feel the vibration?,” Hedges said, noting that the pavement was rumbling under his feet. “That will give you an idea how much water is flowing in there.”

The initial plan was to pump the standing water out of the basement overnight Monday, but that was quashed after consulting with the sewer plant on Latham Works Lane, officials explained.

Water treatment workers did not want a large volume of water that could potentially be contaminated with heating oil coming through their facility when they were not present. For the same reason, the fire department decided it could not simply pump the water out into the downtown storm drains that lead to the nearby White and Connecticut rivers.

Hartford Firefighter Mitch White and Captain Jack Hedges check out an entrance to the basement in an alley behind the building. Eric Francis photo.

Hartford Firefighter Mitch White and Captain Jack Hedges check out an entrance to the basement in an alley behind the building. Eric Francis photo.

Green Mountain Power was able to cut off electricity to just the Gates Briggs Building and leave the power on at the neighboring Hotel Coolidge, but Hartford Fire Marshal Tom Peltier said that power to the block-long building would be off all of Tuesday and possibly beyond.

Peltier said that once town officials and utility companies regroup on Tuesday morning and come up with a plan for draining the basement, his office and the state electrician will still have to inspect and sign off on the safety of any electrical service equipment that got submerged before power can be restored.  Peltier added that the building will also have to be checked for structural integrity and the power and fire alarm systems will have to be back on before any of the businesses and offices in it can be reoccupied.