On Monday, December 26, 2002, at 7:09 pm, the Chestertown VFC was dispatched to 103 N. Cross Street - Kent County Court House for a utility problem. Kent County Facilities Maintenance was there requesting assistance, the basement is flooded with approximately 2- 3 feet of water from a broken domestic water pipe.
First arriving found the situation exactly as described. Initial attempts by firefighters to turn off the domestic water supply failed. The valve controlling the supply from the town municipal main in the street was stuck, likely because it hadn’t been operated for an extended length of time. To assist with shutting the water off, Chestertown Utilities manager Bob Sipe was called to the scene. With the right tools and know-how, he made fast work of closing the valve.
With the flow of water stopped, the incident was turned back over to facilities maintenance. Their first order of business was to de-water the basement. Then, access to the basement can be made to first assess the damaged pipe, and then assess water damage to the boiler, which provides heat to the building.
