Huge icicles hang from Joliet senior living home after pipe bursts
JOLIET, Ill. (CBS) -- Huge icicles were cascading down the side of a senior living home in Joliet.
The city said it's the result of burst pipes, a fear all too familiar for home and business owners as the big thaw begins.
CBS 2's Sara Machi went to the facility to check it out.
A crew came in with a cherry picker basket hammering the icicles into smaller pieces until they fell away.
The front door was blocked off with signs directing people to use another entrance. CBS 2 spoke to some folks who said they've been through one issue after another because of the winter storm.
The huge icicles were hanging outside of the John F. Kennedy Terrace, a senior living facility run by the Housing Authority of Joliet. It was an eye-catching display, but a dangerous one.
"Yeah, it does look a little scary," said visiting resident Shingala Pinnick.
Residents have been looking up at the icicles ever since the temperatures plummeted into a deep freeze last week.
"Yeah, it looks different," said Ira Cannady, a resident. "It's pretty, but it's dangerous."
And this is just one result of pipes that burst in three units.
"That looks horrible doesn't it?" said Michael Simelton, the CEO of the Housing Authority of Joliet. "I mean, but it looks worse than it is."
Simelton said the problems happened when residents turned down, or turned off, their heat before heading out of town. He said they had the problem fixed in a few hours and the building never lost heat.
"We never lost heat," Simelton said. "Contrary to what might be out there, we never lost heat and that is kudos to the team that made sure that we maintained the heat during that cold spell."
Simelton said this used to be a more common problem, but they try to stay ahead of it with some tenant education and preparation, something one plumbing expert told us is important for everyone to remember with so many more weeks of winter ahead.
"Every house is vulnerable to the cold weather," said Mike Garritano, a field supervisor for ABC Plumbing. "Every house is. You just gotta make sure that you know where you main shut offs are. Make sure the temperature is up. Just keep an eye on it. When it gets cold, you know, a lot of things happen."
Housing Authority staff said they've reached out to two contractors to see if they could come out and remove the icicles before warmer temperatures weaken them and cause falling ice.