Condominium residents suffer hot water pipe flood

Residents in an Ontario condominium recently had a tricky situation from which they needed to escape. The homes were not filled with smoke and flames. Instead, the floors in several units were covered with scalding, hot water.

TheSpec.com reports that hot water flooded the sixth floor down to the second level of the parking garage.

Officials report that at least three residents had to go to the hospital because of the incident; one suffered scald burns from her knees to her feet as she tried to evacuate. Unfortunately, the pets that lived in the condo where the flood originated received fatal burns from the hot water. Fire officials who responded to the disaster report the 30-story condominium has massive amounts of water damage. The cause of the broken hot water pipe is not known yet.

The Home Safety Council reports that about 3,800 injuries and 34 deaths occur in the U.S. from hot tap water. Hot water can burn an individual as easily as fire. It only takes one second to receive a third-degree burn from water that is at least 140°F. To help prevent hot water burns, you should set your hot water heater at no higher than 120°F.

Because heat causes objects to expand, hot water has the potential to damage items faster than cold water. Consequently, items made of porous materials like walls and documents can receive more damage than usual from hot water. Thanks to the latest in document restoration technology, Polygon’s special vacuum freeze dryer has a capacity of up to 2,000-cubic-feet per month. This equipment features a controlled drying and monitoring system that prevents over-drying. Polygon’s vacuum freeze dryer has the most advanced technologies to recover and restore water-damaged books and documents without any distortion or warping.

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