Saturday January, 17 2009 Nature: Structure Fire Address: S Gloucester Cir Millsboro, DE 19966 Nature: Automatic Fire Alarm Location: AUDIBLE ALARMS Address: S Gloucester Cir Millsboro, DE 19966 Nature: Service Call Address: S Preservation Dr Millsboro, DE 19966 On Saturday, January 17, 2009, firefighters throughout the Sussex County spent many hours assisting residential and commercial property owners with water flow alarms as a result of the exterior temperatures hovering around the mid-teens for most of the past two days. The Indian River Volunteer Fire Company was no different and experienced a busy day responding to service calls where broken fire sprinkler pipes or broken interior water pipes created fire alarm activations. During the mid-morning hours, the Indian River Volunteer Fire Company was alerted for a structure fire incident on Gloucester Circle in the development of Fairfield just off Long Neck Road. Upon arrival of emergency response personnel, it was identified that a water flow alarm was activated as a result of broken sprinkler water pipes. This condition was exasperated by the below freezing temperatures for the past two days and the fact that little to no residential heat was provided on the interior of the facility. In this situation, the ingoing water supply was shut-off and the residential property owners were notified as well as the complex management firm. The Sussex County Emergency Operations Center was notified that forcible entry measures were employed as well as the fire alarm system was shut off until repairs could be coordinated. This water damage impact to the upper floors of this residential unit was substantial. Immediately after clearing the Gloucester Circle alarm, the Indian River Volunteer Fire Company was dispatched to the Super G grocery store for a reporting broken water pipe situation in or near the floral shop. The responding personnel assisted with the water extraction measures. Upon completion of the Super G incident, the Indian River Volunteer Fire Company was alerted for a water flow incident in the development of Bayshore off of Long Neck Road. Again, this incident involved broken water pipe providing water into the attic space which resulted in substantial water damage to the residential living quarters as well as ceiling collapse of the drywall. Indian River assisted with the various water extrication measures via wet day vacuums. All being stated for the day, Indian River Volunteer Fire Company responded to six (6) residential water flow incidents within the Long Neck communities of Fairfield, Bayshore and the Peninsula, as well as one (1) commercial water flow incident. These events were between the hours of 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Saturday. In Fairfield, four (4) separate building locations were impacted with similar water flow damage incidents. In all incidents, the management companies, insurance companies and fire alarm companies were notified for immediate repairs. The estimated personnel costs (24 members @ Delaware Minimum Wage Rate plus social security costs) and equipment response costs (flat billing rate as determined by FEMA) for these water flow incident are estimated to be $2,268.52 for the day. The incident response was twenty-four (24) members for 5 hours and 13 minutes in-service.