Broken Pipe Damages Boardwalk Condos

OCEAN CITY - Despite mild weather in the resort earlier this week, winter's cold blast is still causing problems in some areas, including a high-rise condominium in downtown Ocean City where a pipe froze and burst last week causing serious damage to dozens of units.

On Dec. 23, the Ocean City Fire Company responded to the Belmont Towers on the Boardwalk at Dorchester Street for a triggered fire alarm. First responders found no fire, but learned a pipe had burst on the building's ninth floor, causing water to leak down to lower floors for a couple of hours before it was discovered. Investigators learned the pipe in question had frozen, causing it to come apart.

Once the water was stopped, clean-up crews from Royal Plus were brought on the scene to address the damage.

'Before the broken pipe was discovered, the water ran down from the top floor to all of the floors below,' Royal Plus spokesman Shawn Murphy said. 'There was extensive damage to all of the lower floors caused by the flooding.'

Royal Plus crews remained on the scene for several days doing cleanup and restoration work. As of midweek, crews were still on the scene doing remediation work.

The incident provides a reminder to property owners throughout the area to take steps to prevent pipes from breaking as the dead of winter descends on the resort.

'This sort of thing happens all the time,' Murphy said. 'People close up their condos for the last time when it might still be mild out and they forget to take steps to winterize them. If they leave for the last time before winter when it might be a nice day, they tend to get complacent about what they should be doing to protect their property.'