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AdamAnt's post reminded me of an incident from decades back...
I used to be a good customer of a used bookstore out in Suffolk County, Long Island. I don't know if it's still there... Anyway, I went there on a bitterly cold morning and picked out a fairly large stack of books, when I and other customers noticed water soaking the carpet towards the back of the store. The water was advancing fairly rapidly. The staff behind the counter were rather worried; they had no idea what to do, they'd called the landlord but hadn't heard back yet. I offered my assistance in shutting off the water.
One of the ladies let me into a utility closet in the back of the building; water had been coming out the bottom of the door when it was opened. Water was gushing out of a backflow preventer that had been mounted on the outside wall and had been cracked along the face. Water was also spraying from the crack across the room, right onto a large electrical panel. Dangerous, and I said so.
The employee attempted to rush me away, but I was able to spot the shutoff valve, almost underwater and in between a bunch of piping. I closed it with my foot and the flood abruptly stopped.
The staff was rather happy, and wouldn't accept my money for the books I'd picked out.
I used to be a good customer of a used bookstore out in Suffolk County, Long Island. I don't know if it's still there... Anyway, I went there on a bitterly cold morning and picked out a fairly large stack of books, when I and other customers noticed water soaking the carpet towards the back of the store. The water was advancing fairly rapidly. The staff behind the counter were rather worried; they had no idea what to do, they'd called the landlord but hadn't heard back yet. I offered my assistance in shutting off the water.
One of the ladies let me into a utility closet in the back of the building; water had been coming out the bottom of the door when it was opened. Water was gushing out of a backflow preventer that had been mounted on the outside wall and had been cracked along the face. Water was also spraying from the crack across the room, right onto a large electrical panel. Dangerous, and I said so.
The employee attempted to rush me away, but I was able to spot the shutoff valve, almost underwater and in between a bunch of piping. I closed it with my foot and the flood abruptly stopped.
The staff was rather happy, and wouldn't accept my money for the books I'd picked out.