By Dedra Cordle
Staff Writer
On June 19, nearly four and a half inches of rain fell within an hour in the city of Grove City. Among the properties impacted by the rapidly accumulating rainfall that night was the Jackson Township administrative building.Several emergency vehicles within the fire department were also impacted.
According to Township Administrator Shane Farnsworth, the administrative building took in a fair amount of water through a breach in the front and back entrances. He said at the June 25 board of trustees meeting that the water made its way into a closet, under the podium in the public meeting room and throughout the carpeting.
Farnsworth told the trustees they were unable to contact a carpet cleaning service at that time, so he used his own water vacuum to suck up the excess water.
“I think I pulled about 30 gallons of water out of the carpet,” he said.
Farnsworth added that they used box fans to dry out the carpeting that was soaked near the closet and podium, and also opened all the windows to air out any mustiness left behind.
“I think we’re going to have to watch out for that for a while,” he said during the board’s caucus session.
Beyond the soaked carpeting, Farnsworth said no further damage was reported.
According to Assistant Fire Chief Shawn Quincel, there were three emergency response vehicles that were impacted by the rain.
“They were all out on runs and just came into too much water,” he said, referring to Engine 203 and 206 and Medic 203. Engine 206 is used primarily as a backup vehicle.
Quincel told the trustees that Engine 203 had an electrical issue and is now fixed, while Engine 206 and Medic 203 are “in the shop” being evaluated.
Trustee David Burris asked Farnsworth to contact their insurance agency as the township could be looking at a large repair bill.
There was no water damage reported at any of the fire stations.
