CARLISLE SENDS HELP TO CLEVELAND

SEVEN THOUSAND GALLONS OF HELP

Cleveland – When a major water main break occurred in Cleveland this morning, leaving many homes, businesses and hospitals with either low water pressure or no water at all – a call for Water Tankers went out to Fire Departments in three counties, including Lorain.

The 111 year old, 42-inch water main, located in the area of East 39th and Hamilton in Cleveland, broke around 7 a.m. Wednesday morning. The break left much of downtown and the near east and west sides of the city with little to no water pressure. Cleveland Division of Water Commissioner Chris Nielson said that crews are working hard to fix the broken pipes and that they had been focusing on the two largest valves, in order to shut them down. Nielson said that involves turning the valves 800 times.

When water supply was low or lost to area hospitals The Ohio Fire Chief’s Emergency Response Plan was activated and a request was made for a dozen Water Tankers from surrounding communities.

Carlisle Township Fire Department was one of the Departments who responded to the call, sending their tanker loaded with 7,000 gallons of water. They, along with about 2 dozen other Tankers, staged at the Independence Fire Department and awaited an assignment.

The Firefighters never received an assignment, just a Thank you and they headed home. Assistant Chief Wayne Simms of the Carlisle Township Fire Department said they were happy to go and help Cleveland. “If someone calls, if someone needs us, we’ll be there.”