A Breckenridge resort evacuated about 100 people early Sunday morning when a sprinkler stand pipe split open, according to Red, White and Blue Fire Rescue officials.
The pipe, which was connected to the main water line, burst about 5:30 a.m. in the eighth-floor stairwell in Building 2 of Beaver Run Resort. About 10,000 gallons of water swamped the building, said Kim Scott, a fire spokeswoman.
The water poured down hallways, into rooms and through the floors at about 1,500 gallons of water per minute, for about 7 minutes. All 50 rooms were evacuated, and the fire rescue shut off the water by 5:45 a.m.
Resort officials said there is no structural damage to the building, although some rooms will take days to recover.
“It’s just water damage and wet feet,” said Bob Barto, assistant general manager of Beaver Run, adding that all guests were taken care of by 11 a.m.
Teo Forcht Dagi, who was visiting from Boston, said he is concerned with the way the hotel handled the situation.
“It was a critical event,” Dagi said.
He and his wife and their three teenage children were staying on the fourth floor when the fire alarm woke them up. They grabbed warm clothes and entered the dry stairwell on the other side of the building. The floor in their room was already wet.
Dagi said he compliments the staff for getting everyone settled but said there was no signage and the communication was inadequate.
“They gave us conflicting instructions. They were telling us to go get our things and then telling us no one could get back into the building,” he said. “There was tremendous confusion. Fortunately, the guests were resourceful.”
Barto said a full staff was called in to deal with the incident, including security.
“A majority of our guests are understanding and see our efforts to make the best of a bad situation,” Barto said.
The fire rescue said this kind of incident is common, although most are confined to a single room or two and few have significant damage such as what happened at Beaver Run.
“It was minus 15 degrees the night before,” Scott said. “And when there is a loss of heat to the stairwell, the water freezes and expands and breaks the pipe.”
Scott said there are no reported injuries.
“Safety is our main concern,” she said. “Nobody was hurt, and nobody was out in the cold.”
Sally S. Ho: 303-954-1638 or sho@denverpost.com
