ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE, Md. –
The 316th Wing headquarters building experienced flooding in the AB, B and BC corridors of the second and third floors and parts of the first floor Tuesday morning.
"There was a break in a 4-inch chilled water return line for the Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning system," said Maj. Michael D. Miller, 316th Civil Engineer Squadron operations chief. "We're (316 CES) not sure why it burst, it was probably just old infrastructure."
The flooding caused occupants of the building to evacuate their offices until the fire department declared it safe to return.
"I was sitting in a meeting with my colonel and could hear what sounded like a shower in the hallway," said Master Sgt. Alan Williams, 316 WG Public Affairs superintendent. "So, I stepped out into the hallway and could see three Airmen from Public Affairs scrambling to get recycling bins in place to catch the downpour. The water was coming from what seemed like everywhere. It was coming from the ceiling inside as well as running down the outside of the building."
The flooding lasted for several hours. Electrical, HVAC and the local area network systems were shut down to minimize damage, until 316 CES could shut off the water to the affected section.
Electricity was restored to some sections around 4 p.m. and LAN networking was restored by morning.
HVAC system repairs were completed Wednesday.
"We are still assessing the damage and cost of repair," said Capt. Frederick Stanley, AFOSI Logistics deputy.
An estimated $300,000 worth of infrastructure damage was caused by the flooding.