DOVER, Del.- Flood water from a malfunctioning sprinkler system washed out four apartments and five businesses on W Loockerman Street Tuesday night.
Dover Fire Department's Deputy Chief Sean Christiansen, said nine units are now unfit for occupancy.
According to Christiansen, all four floors of the building at 32 W Loockerman were impacted.
Donnell's Salon for Men and Women, located on the bottom floor, seems to have been hit the hardest.
Owner Donnell Fears said he has his work cut out for him.
"Everything that we had in the salon has been completely destroyed and my employees were not able to salvage anything," said Fears.
Other businesses affected include Vision Quest Home Quest and Souley Auto Sales.
Deputy Chief Christiansen said the danger of water and electrical wires mixing was a critical factor in the decision to condemn.
"We ended up condemning nine units because of the life safety aspect of water in the electric as well as the saturated dry wall in the ceiling which had potential for collapse," he said, noting how several ceiling panels did collapse after people were evacuated.
Fears said this incident adds to existing challenges faced in downtown Dover.
"You hear of the shootings, violence, drugs and homelessness but you don't see floods," he said. "We are at a state where only the strong survive."
Christiansen said the sprinkler system and fire alarms have since been fixed, and that the building will have to be inspected for electrical safety before the condemned units can reopen.
The property owner did not respond to our request for comment but Christiansen tells WBOC any displaced people were provided hotel rooms following the incident.
