Weight room, auditorium, gyms flooded over break
OCEAN CITY — Multiple pipes burst Christmas night at Ocean City High School, leading to several inches of water in the weight room and auxiliary gymnasium, as well as damage in the main gym and auditorium.
Superintendent Matthew Friedman said Thursday the extent of damage was still being assessed and efforts were being made to adjust sports and other schedules to accommodate for the lost space. School was set to resume Jan. 3.
“Winter Storm Elliot brought a severe Arctic freeze and sub-zero temperatures to our area that will definitely be remembered for years to come,” Friedman stated in a letter to the student body. “Because of the sub-zero wind chill temperatures over a several day period … several water pipes burst, resulting in water damage that ranges from minor to more severe in isolated areas in the building (the weight room, the auxiliary gymnasium, the main gymnasium and the auditorium).”
Friedman told the Sentinel that he received a call at about 8:30 p.m. reporting there were potential water issues at the high school.
He said district officials have been meeting with a restoration company and an insurance adjuster to determine the extent of the damage.
“Right now we are assessing if the main gym has any issues for games or practices moving forward,” he said. “At this time, no sports will be played until we make those assessments.”
Friedman commended the school district’s maintenance and custodial crews, who he said worked late into the next morning conducting an initial cleanup.
“I want to express appreciation to the maintenance and custodial staff and the fire department for responding on Christmas night,” Friedman said. “If it were not for them it would have been much worse.”
He said district Director of Facilities Henry Rodrique and his teams were “instrumental in minimizing damage.” He added that Mayor Jay Gillian and the Ocean City Fire Department “went above and behind to really help out.”
Friedman said he arrived the next day to inspect the damage.
“We had a good number of firefighters, seven or eight maintenance workers … it was really because of extra help from the fire department and mayor that we were able to mitigate a lot of the damages,” he said.
He said the workers identified the source and turned it off, then removed standing water and anything that was damaged, noting the ceiling fell in one area.
Friedman said the auxiliary gym is probably a loss.
“The whole thing was under several inches of water,” he said.
He was reluctant to talk more about the extent of damages before everything was properly assessed, but did say he is “pretty optimistic” about getting things “turned around pretty quickly.” He said it was a blessing that the school was closed to students and staff until Tuesday.
“Our crew has been amazing to get things back in shape,” he said.
Ocean City spokesman Doug Bergen said the Fire Department responded on Christmas night and worked with custodial staff to find, isolate and cut off the water leak. They then worked to move as much water as possible out of the building to limit the damage.
“The school is an essential facility in the community, so everybody went the extra mile to do as much as possible. The city and the school district have always enjoyed a good partnership and worked to support each other,” Bergen said.
The situation led to an adjustment on the fly for several First Night activities scheduled at the school.
Friedman also said alternative sites have been established for sports practices and games at the Ocean City Intermediate School and Ocean City Sports and Civic Center if necessary.
“Ocean City is such a special place. The partnership with the city is unique and Mayor Gillian offered to provide assistance in the cleanup process and resources to get us through,” Friedman said. “If we didn’t have these types of things, it would be hard to get alternate sites for sports and other activities.”
By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff