The stunning architecture, soaring ceilings and intricate carvings in the Ohio Statehouse were soaked on Tuesday after the brutal arctic chill burst pipes in the historic building.
WSYX6's Darrell Rowland made light of the situation by saying that "normally the press loves leaks from the Statehouse." That wasn't the case on Tuesday "when it flows to the floor below aka the Statehouse press room."
The leak started around 9 a.m., according to The Springfield News Sun. It began in the ceiling in the Senate visitors’ lounge, the paper quoted Laura Battocletti, executive director of the Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board.
“It was just so bitterly cold and things froze up. And as they started to thaw we had a break in the fire suppression line,” she explained. “We were able to isolate that and shut it off, but obviously not before we had a lot of water come through.”
The water went into the Senate chamber and then through the walls and ceiling into the press room.
“It was actually flowing down the stairs outside the chamber,” Battocletti said. Video from Sen. Jay Hottinger showed pools of dirty water flooding into the chamber and creeping down the aisle to the dais.
\u201cMy last day at the Statehouse not going very well. @OhioStatehouse\u201d— Senator Jay Hottinger (@Senator Jay Hottinger) 1672152619
The staff was able to isolate the source and shut off, but it's going to be a while before the water stops draining into rooms and a crew can get in to drain the building and set up fans to try and dry it out. It's unclear just how much damage has been done to the historic structure that first broke ground in 1839. It's one of the oldest working statehouses in the United States.
