MOUNT VERNON — A break in the water main in front of the home at 203 Mansfield Ave. caused damage to the house after a portion of the flooded basement collapsed under a deluge of thousands of gallons of water.
Shawn Jacobs and William Johnson were home with two of their three children when the 6-inch main broke, shooting water several yards across their front yard and onto the house with a heavy force.
“Just all of the sudden it started shooting gravel at the picture window from where they repaired it,” Jacobs said.
The couple explained the water main was repaired by the city of Mount Vernon two weeks ago. At that time, Johnson said it took water department workers over two hours to turn off the water, which caused flooding in the front yard.
When the main broke again on Saturday, Jacobs said the family had gone downstairs to move keepsakes and belongings from the path of the water, which was dripping from the ceiling and flooding the basement.
“We were moving things in the basement when the whole wall collapsed,” Jacobs said outside the home, as firefighters waited for city workers to find the correct shut-off for the water main.
Lt. Mike Treisch of the Mount Vernon Fire Department said that when crews arrived shortly after 3 p.m., they opened a nearby hydrant to relieve pressure pumping from the main directly at the house.
“We got the water slowed down and evacuated the house because we felt it was unsafe,” Treisch said. “The front porch and a 20-foot section of the east wall of the basement totally caved in.”
Jacobs said the front porch landed in the basement, leaning against the water heater and furnace. Utility crews from American Electric Power and Cumberland Gas arrived to disconnect the gas and electric.
The couple has lived in the home, which belongs to landlords Dale and Rhonda Statler, for over two years.
“We love it here, it’s just perfect for us,” Jacobs said.
Don and Karen Durbin, friends of the Statlers, were at the house shortly after fire crews arrived to see how they could help.
“The Statlers are in West Virginia, and they called us,” Karen said.
“My son was on this side of the house and I yelled for him and as I grabbed him the wall was collapsing behind him,” Johnson said. “Then I called 9-1-1.”
Jacobs and Johnson said they called both the water department, which is not open on the weekends, and the police department to report the broken main. However, no one arrived before the basement collapsed approximately 45 minutes later, Johnson said.
He said he was not satisfied with the repair job the city had done on the main two weeks earlier, which he said did not hold.
“They did nothing,” he said. “All they did was push a bunch of dirt over the existing hole.”
The couple and their three children were offered temporary housing help by the Knox County Chapter of the American Red Cross. Jacobs said the family does not know at this point how many of its belongings were destroyed by the 2 feet of water, mud and silt which filled the basement.
