COLUMBUS, Ohio — You can hear the sound of fans blowing in buildings across Columbus.
At the Columbus Metropolitan Library Southeast Branch in Groveport, you can hear the fans running between nearly every desk and bookcase. It's day four of the clean-up after a pipe burst on Christmas Day. Inside, you can see where the flooding happened and how high the water came up.
With the flooding there was damage. Lots of furniture will have to be thrown out.
From the library to the Ohio Statehouse to the LeVeque Tower — many buildings across the city have had to deal with pipes bursting after the sub-zero frigid air.
Ken Neverman of ServiceMASTER by Neverman is tasked with the cleanup at these places and more.
“I've been in business 22 years and I've never seen anything like this,” he said.
Neverman said he planned ahead for this weather event and bought $500,000 worth of equipment. But he can't keep up with the number of calls for help.
“Everyone is doing the best that we can to try to answer the phones 24/7. And it's been non-stop,” he said.
He shares advice to help homeowners prevent this kind of damage.
“Make sure you have your water at a drip even. Have your cabinet doors open so the heat from your regular HVAC system can get in there better. Check the insulation in your attic. Make sure that's up to standards. Really then there's sometimes nothing that you can do. And that's what insurance is for,” he said. “When it gets -34 degrees what are you going to do?”
Library officials said it's too early to estimate a total cost of the damage to the building. They expect to re-open Jan. 3.
