The fire suppression sprinkler system - something that all cohousers hope they never have to use! However, this past week, two communities experienced flooding in units - one due to the sprinkler system going off, the other due to frozen pipes.
Before going any further, please know that everyone is safe and damage was limited to that caused by the water. (Flooring and drywall can be replaced!) So, what happened and how did the communities respond?
In one community, a teen’s dinner went up in flames (it was contained, and happens to the best of us!) but caused the kitchen fire sprinkler to go off, resulting in about 3 inches of water on their hardwood floors and in containers across the kitchen. In the other community, a frozen pipe caused leaking in a home, also resulting in about an inch of water on the floor. In both communities, dozens of residents immediately responded with mountains of towels and a helping hand, so what would have taken these individual households hours to clean up took less than an hour - how incredible!
In response to the community’s support, the teenager’s mom (who wasn’t home at the time of the incident) sent a member-wide email expressing her gratitude for everyone’s help, thanking each person for their contribution, including the people who:
Initially identified the issue and checked to see if anyone was in danger
Turned the power off
Worked with the fire department and sprinkler company to turn alarms and water off
Shepherded the younger siblings to their warm home and offered them supper (one of the kids was so cold and scared, their mom reported)
Brought towels from their own homes and helped remove the water, then took the dirty towels away to wash
What would you do without such helpful nearby neighbors????
Do you have an example of a community supporting one another? Send it to andrea.budde@cohousing-solutions.com!