Near Disaster

I came to open my store this morning. All was well. The heat kicked in when I arrived, 9:45, just as the timer is supposed to do.

I set up the computer. Turned on the lights, and did some online work until 10:00 AM when the store opens and my Asst. Manager arrives. Usually I finish some things up while he sets up all the display products.

And about that time, I start to hear a hissing sound. It seems off. I think at first my asst. has turned on Nature's Fire but its jammed and making a funny noise. But its way too loud. I think it might be part of the music (usually ambient 'spacey' music is played in the store) but I know this piece. It doesn't sound like that. I begin to think a speaker is blown. I walk to the back of the store to try and see if that is the case.

What I see instead, is water spraying out of the back wall and onto the floor. Oh shit. Shit! SHIT! FreakingHELLSHIT!! My yell alerts my assistant and we both run into the basement to try and turn off the water...

But guess what, the valves down in the basement don't do that. We scramble for a few minutes trying various valves, but none turn off the water completely. Fearing that the water is going to flood the entire back of the store I decide the fight it with towels, buckets, anything until we can figure out the permenant solution.

When I get to the spraying pipe, I realise it has its own cut-off valve. I turn it and the water shuts off. Phew.

We go over the 'damage'. The floor is wet, but because I had redone the floor and coated it with oil-based varnish, it is not soaking in. We franticly go to work with sponge mops and soon have the floor surprisingly dry.

But then we look at the merchandise. The water initially made one heck of a spray, but the good news is that it 'aimed' towards the labware and not towards the telescopes. The water went far, reaching three shelves up, but it was almost a direct stream. The glassware is wet, as are some test tube racks, but aside from a few items in cardboard boxes that got some drops on them, it can all be dried and cleaned.

I presume the pipe broke beacuse of the cold weather. It is poorly insulated from the outside (how do brits keep their outdoor pipes from breaking when they freeze?). Next time I must remember to turn off the water. I was extremely lucky in that this pipe broke just after I arrived and not the night before.

So, I am looking at a plumber's bill, instead of contacting my insurance company. But man, seeing water spraying uncontrollably in your store is a way to get adrenaline pumping.