BRUNSWICK

A fire-suppression sprinkler pipe came apart at a coupling over Byrne’s Irish Pub and Scarlet Begonias Monday morning, causing heavy water damage and closing the businesses for weeks.

The root cause isn’t clear. Scarlet Begonias owner Doug Lavallee said he heard someone say a hatch may have been left open, letting in cold air and leading to a frozen, burst pipe, although someone else told him the inch-and-a-half pipe simply failed.

“When I came in yesterday there were three or four fire trucks, a Topsham fire truck and they were just squeegeeing the water and it was just sheeting out the back of the building. It sounded like a water- fall,” Lavallee said.

Lavallee said he received a call from the Brunswick Police Department at 7:20 a.m., notifying him of the mess. By 9 a.m., Lavallee said Servpro was already going to work, starting with the spaces above them and working their way down.

According to Lavallee, there’s some minor damage to his kitchen equipment — but then there’s the food. Any food in the flooded area had to be discarded and the power being shut off wasn’t conducive to keeping food fresh.

“My walk-in was fine, but the majority of that food won’t last four to five weeks,” Lavallee said. “So I’m going to have to inventory the whole thing and as it goes — as I throw it away. Some stuff, like bacon lasts for a long time. The cheeses may not last and all the prep food certainly won’t be good — the soups and marinaras and all that. The pizza dough is all gone.”

Lavallee said repairs will take between three and four weeks in a best case scenario — one he knows his neighbor, Byrne’s, is counting on reopening by St. Patrick’s Day.

“I luckily listened to my insurance salesman 20 years ago when I opened this place,” Lavallee said, who works with his wife and three kids in the restaurant. “She sold me really good insurance. I’ll be able to take care of my employees, it looks like. I’ll be able to take care of my family. I’ll be able to get everything fixed and not really suffer too much from it — so we’re lucky there.”

Lavallee said February is notoriously the slowest month of the year for restaurants, so at least the timing will allow him to make repairs when there’s a seasonal slump.

When the restaurant reopens, Lavallee said he’s expecting things to be crazy as regulars, deprived of their favorite menu items, will once again be able to dine.

“You see floods in other parts of the country in restaurants and you think, I just can’t imagine that and now I’m part of it,” Lavallee said.

Brunswick Fire Chief Ken Brillant said firefighters were called to 16 Station Ave., in Brunswick at 7:11 a.m. Monday for what he characterized as a salvage call.

He couldn’t say if the pipe, which came apart at a joint, was caused by the cold snap. Sometimes after pipes freeze the damage starts as the weather begins to warm and things let go. Sometimes pipes just break, he said.

The cold over the last few days has sent firefighters to a couple different broken sprinkler or water pipes after the pipes froze. They were also called to Fort Andross Monday afternoon and went to 2 Polar Loop at Bowdoin College. Brillant said on Sunday there was also a couple pipes that broke at and quite a bit of water in Memorial Hall, on the college campus.

The fire department responds and helps get the water secured and shut off if it hasn’t been already and will help get some of the water out of the building. Pipes can break due to a buildup of ice inside them.

Brillant said blow torches or other high-heat sources shouldn’t be used on a frozen pipe due to the risk of fire.

Times Record Staff Writer Darcie Moore contributed to this story.

dmcintire@timesrecord.com