By Blake Haas
BLOOMINGTON – After a water heater burst leading to pipelines in appliances, the Salvation Army is asking for the public’s help after an estimated $20,000 in repairs.
With 58 current residents occupying the Salvation Army Center located at 611 W. Washington St., in Bloomington, one of the commercial water heaters ruptured internally resulting in water backing up into the gas line. Another concern with the busted water heater is that the water may have also gotten into the gas lines leading to the appliances.
“The heater is a commercial… large heater that we are using for our facility to make sure that we are able to cook, were able to use our dryers and our clients [resident’s] when we are at capacity we are at 58 are able to take warm showers,” said Gaby Bontea, Social Services Director for the Salvation Army. “That unit actually ended up rupturing inside and gas and water mixed together causing the differential pressure to just blow out the water and get the water into the lines which also went down into the water meter or gas meter which also needs replaced.”
Maintenance crews are checking on the pipelines to see if any other appliances are down, but in the meantime staff of the Salvation Army are preparing meals that do not require cooking (cereal, sandwiches etc.) and laundry is being hung to dry.
“We are still preparing meals but we are preparing meals that don’t need to be heated,” added Bontea. “We’re using the convection oven instead of the gas stove and the gas grill. We served a cold breakfast and looking at sandwiches and just really changing our menu. They [residents] are able to take showers but it is cold showers. Our dryers are gas so we are not able to dry their items….The initial quote was close to $20,000, that is just a preliminary estimate of that.”
Bontea added that with the bursting of water heater, both monetary and items such as towels are in dispirit need.
“Right now we are in need of towels, we were a bit low on that and then now that we are not able to get our wash and dry as quickly as we typically do when our dryer is working. We have a clothes line hanging and fans providing circulation to get that dry.”
Donations can be dropped off at 611 W. Washington St., Bloomington, 208 N. Oak St. or online at sabloomington.org.
Blake Haas can be reached at [email protected].
