Bronx Rooftop Water Tank Leaks, Floods Building

Near 2:30 a.m., a pipe of a 25,000 gallon water tank on a Bronx apartment building rooftop cracked—forcing all 14 floors' residents to be evacuated. The incident occurred on Holland Avenue, in the Olinville section.

Residents were allowed to return, though heat and water were shut off during the initial repairs (they are being restored now), with water running down windows, walls and hallways. One resident told WCBS 2, "A lot of water from the roof. My apartment, I live on 14th floor, and my floor was full of water." And Battalion Chief Richard Blatus said, "There was some kind of malfunction of the overflow valve on the roof tank which caused several thousand gallons of water to flood the roof area. As a precaution we evacuated the top two floors. We were able to shut down the main to the building."

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in News on December 18, 2009 8:34 AM

Comments [rss]

jaycjay

The tank didn't leak or rupture, and it wasn't caused by a pipe cracking as stated above. According to the linked ABC article, an electronic sensor failed causing the tank to overflow. Something like if your upstairs neighbor leaves the water running in a stopped bathtub, times a few thousand gallons.

silver

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Towering_Inferno

Benjamin

This is my second greatest fear in NYC. Right behind falling down the service doors on the ground in front of restaurants.

seven

There's an "Olinville" section of the Bronx? Damn, this is a big city.

Kojak

That's nuts. And last night was brick cold.

Whats even more nuts is that most of these Water tanks are made from Wood, but this type of event is still very rare.

Clarice City

When I lived in Brooklyn, I would look around at the rooftops and wonder how old those things were and if something like this could happen.

Kojak

I've read about this company that goes around and rebuilds them after they've past their lifespan. They say wood is ideal because of how it flexes and conforms to the weight of the water, the temperature, etc, while steal and other materials rusts and fail. Plus wood is quick to replace.

Whatever works, but I guess shit still happens.

nicemarmot

That's what I was thinking! When I first moved here, I wondered how often they froze/burst. I don't think I've actually heard of it happening in all the years I've been here.