Freezing Pipes, Pets Keep Crews Busy

Arctic temperatures didn’t put a chill on Spokane Valley emergency services.

The subzero temperatures were sending firefighters to busted water pipes and animal control officers to freezing pets.

Valley firefighters responded to a spate of bursting water pipes and malfunctioning sprinkler systems at businesses and unoccupied schools this week.

On Monday, a sprinkler system burst at the Sullivan Square shopping center on the corner of Sprague and Sullivan, sending a flood of water that quickly coated the parking lot with ice.

When sprinkler systems burst, alarms send firefighters to a scene thinking it’s a fire, said Fire Investigator Paul Chase.

But what they’ve found recently is much different.

“It’s horrible mess,” Chase said. “We get called out to a fire that’s really not a fire.”

Fire investigators said they did not have exact numbers on how many incidents they responded to that were frozen-up sprinkler systems or busted pipes at business.

“I’m sure it will be more,” Chase said.

Fire officials advise businesses that will close for the Christmas holidays to leave water running and the heat on.

If a pipe does freeze, use a hair dryer to defrost it rather than a welder’s torch or open flames. Officers from the Spokane County Animal Control office have been running to a string of complaints from neighbors about pets not having shelter in the frigid temperatures, said director Nancy Sattin.

“People just don’t seem to get it,” she said. “State law says you have to provide shelter for animals. We interpret that to be a doghouse in this kind of weather, preferably not letting the dog lie on the cold ground.”

While there have been no incidents of frozen animals, experts are advising people to give their pets shelter when outside for even short amounts of time, she said.

“Dogs can survive a lot,” she said. “But it doesn’t mean they aren’t miserable.”