taylorville, utah — A longtime music store owner said Tuesday that extreme cold temperatures had led to a malfunction of the fire-fighting system, bursting pipes and flooding the storefront.
It was on that day that numerous pipe and water problems were reported in northern Utah.
Dustin Hansen said when he and the workers showed up at Greywhale: 1773 W W 4700 S — at In the morning they noticed one of the awning’s fire pipes sticking low into the ground.
He said the situation worsened as property managers rushed to secure crews for the business.
“There was a whole fire extinguishing system through the awnings throughout this complex that was leaking antifreeze,” Hansen told KSL TV. It went down to 7 degrees or less and I couldn’t stand it and it started to freeze and it started to thaw a little bit so I said the pressure dropped, it grew and the pipe exploded.”
Fortunately, Hansen said, employees were pushing rows of records and other products away from the water and back into the store.
“She saved the day so we could collect all the products and put them back here out of the way,” said Hansen.
The owner said damage from broken pipes will likely cause the location to close later in the week, or until next week at the latest.
See: The Gray Whale store in Taylorsville flooded when its fire suppression system froze and ruptured. 😱😥 #utwx
Closed until further notice. pic.twitter.com/O7rGS5vXwD
—KSL5TV (@KSL5TV) February 1, 2023
“We are lucky and lucky to have a place to go. This is the worst thing that can happen to us,” Hansen said. “It’s disappointing and terrifying, but I’m really glad we got out as unscathed as possible. You know, we’re going to lose a few days of business, but we’re okay.”
Tuesday went well into the negative range, marked by freezing and breaking pipe problems from Taylorsville to Salt Lake City to Cache Valley amid sub-single-digit low temperatures and wind chill.
According to Salt Lake City public works officials, the city alone has received more than 130 calls regarding water “freezing” problems.
