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Town feels delayed affects of cold weather
By Chris Roark, roarkc@acnpapers.com
Flower Mound Fire Chief Eric Metzger spoke too soon.
Friday, Metzger said the town escaped any widespread problems as a result of the cold weather that struck North Texas last week.
But Saturday, the effects of the cold week hit.
“Once it got up to about 40 degrees Saturday, the pipes started to let loose,” Metzger said. “During a two-hour period, we got up to 30 calls. Then we started getting proactive by going to buildings that had been closed for the weekend, and we found several more.”
Metzger said places such as churches and daycares were particularly affected as they had gone through a period of time of non-use. He said three of the Children’s Courtyard facilities in town suffered damage, as well as facilities in other cities.
Senior care facilities were also impacted. Metzger said Cross Timbers Care Center had a domestic water line break, and the fire department helped to shut it off. At the Atria of Flower Mound, the fire protection line broke, and it displaced several residents as six rooms were damaged. And at Pinewood Hills retirement community, there were reports of water leaks, though no major damage was done.
“We’re finding that more damage was done at places where people weren’t there,” Metzger said. “They seem to be buildings that weren’t immediately occupied where maybe they weren’t heated.”
Metzger said the senior facilities were heated, but the attics where the pipes were may not have been. But he added Flower Mound’s situation wasn’t as bad as many other cities in North Texas.
Sunday, the fire department dealt with a different type of issue. A house in the 4600 block of Wild Honey had a small fire as a result of ashes from the fireplace being thrown into a trash can. The trash can was against the wall, which caught fire. Metzger said the homeowner began extinguishing the fire before firefighters arrived, so it didn’t take long to put it out. There were no injuries, and the fire caused about $1,000 in damage.
“Those ashes can stay live for three days after having a fire,” Metzger said. “The best thing to do is wait a week before throwing them out or wet them down.”
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