By KENNETH HART - The Independent
ASHLAND — Cleanup continued Monday at the Paramount Arts Center following a weekend incident that flooded two floors of the facility.
A contestant getting ready for Saturday’s Miss Ashland Area Scholarship Pageant accidentally triggered the sprinkler system in the arts center. About 1,000 gallons of water gushed from the system before it could be shut off.
The incident occurred about 5 p.m. in a second-floor dressing room in the newest wing of the Paramount — the portion at the rear that was grafted onto the theater several years ago as part of a major renovation.
According to the Ashland Fire Department, a pageant contestant hung her dress from a sprinkler head protruding from the ceiling in the dressing room and was using a steamer to remove the wrinkles from it. The heat from the device activated the sprinkler system.
The incident left about 21/2 inches of standing water on the floor of the second story, said Cindy Collins, director of operations at the Paramount. The water leaked through the floor and down into a first-floor banquet room, where a private party was taking place, she said.
Needless to say, the rushing water “kind of broke the party up,” she said.
The arts center was evacuated and everyone left in an orderly fashion. Still, the scene in and around the building was one of chaos and mass confusion, Collins said.
“There was all this water flowing down from the ceiling and all these pageant contestants standing around, some in curlers, some holding their dresses,” she said. “It was pretty crazy.”
The contestant who tripped the sprinklers, who wasn’t identified, was “totally soaked,” Collins said.
The portion of the arts center where the incident took placed was cordoned off and the pageant went on as scheduled.
Collins said she was somewhat puzzled as to why the contestant felt the need to use the sprinkler head as a clothing hook. The arts center supplies clothing racks in the dressing rooms that can be extended to accommodate longer garments, she said.
“We have Broadway shows in there all the time and those people have never had a problem,” she said.
She said the arts center probably would place signs in the dressing rooms warning people to not hang garments from the sprinkler heads.
The fire department estimated the damage at $30,000, but Collins said she thought it might actually be more than that. She also said Paramount officials were concerned about the possible effect the flooding could have on the structure due to its age.
The building was erected in 1824, which makes it older than the Paramount itself, Collins said. It was known as the Buckley Building before it was tied into the arts center.
The damage was covered by insurance. The pageant organization had rented the Paramount for the event and was required to provide insurance in order to do so, said Tyson Compton, the arts center’s marketing director.
Collins praised the efforts of Amerikleen, the firm that was contacted in the wake of the incident. Workers quickly removed the water from the building and performed in “incredible” fashion, she said.
On Monday, a number of warm air-producing devices known as Turbo Dryers were humming on both floors of the facility. Several tiles were still missing from the ceilings on both floors and floor tiles on the second floor were obviously loose.
Compton said workers still had to check the building’s heating and cooling ducts for moisture, which he said could result in mold growth if left unattended.
The incident also resulted in a hasty change of plans for another employee of the arts center.
Kim Ward, executive assistant, had rented the banquet room for Sunday for her sister’s wedding reception. The flooding forced an 11th-hour move to the stone lodge on U.S. 60.
Ward said she felt fortunate that she was able to find another facility that could accommodate the gathering, which had more than 70 guests. Still, having to relocate it on such short notice was “awful,” she said.
KENNETH HART can be reached at khart@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2654.
