5082 Azalea Drive Drenched by Water from Columbia Gas Mistake

Jesse Burk and Tricia Gilbert must have known that they would get different weather in Pittsburgh than they used to in Oklahoma, but they certainly didn’t expect this.

Burk and his girlfriend Gilbert, who only recently moved to the Borough of Whitehall from Oklahoma, were hit with an unsuspected rainstorm at about 9:30 a.m. this morning, Feb. 23, when a subcontractor for Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania inadvertently struck a Pennsylvania American Water line, causing a gush of water to shoot “60 to 70 feet into the air,” according to Burk, and quickly flood his home at 5082 Azalea Drive.

Burk said that the mishap occurred while gas workers were replacing gas lines in the neighborhood and digging right in his front yard, so his home suffered the most damage. Though, at least two other homes near Burk’s suffered significant water damage as well.

The water pumped from the site of the accident for “at least an hour,” according to Burk.

The family’s son’s room in the basement was hit the hardest, as they were hospitable enough to show the Baldwin-Whitehall Patch.

Burk said that basement carpet and tile had to be torn out, and his family’s clothes, which were mostly in the basement, had to be taken to a dry cleaner. Burk said that Columbia Gas is covering his family’s expenses, including a hotel stay for the foreseeable future and potential future care for his pet dog and lizard.

His roof has significant damage as well.

“They [Columbia Gas] said they were gonna take care of everything,” Burk said. “They’ve been real helpful.

“They took pictures. We all took pictures.”

Burk said that he works as a Marcellus Shale driller but that he was home with his pets when the flooding began. Burk was in the basement when water started pouring through a basement window.

Gilbert said that she works for Citizens Bank and was receiving training in Downtown Pittsburgh when the accident happened. The son, a 15 year old, was not home either, as he was attending classes as a freshman at .

“I’m just glad somebody was here,” Burk said.

Burk said that all water, gas and power have been shut off at his home and in neighboring homes as a precaution.

As of 5:18 p.m. on Wednesday, all three utilities are still believed to be turned off, though workers are on the scene trying to correct that.

The pet lizard, a Chinese water dragon named Drago, requires around 80-degree temperatures at all times, so the flooding nearly killed it.

Drago is recovering at a neighbor’s house. The family’s dog, a Doberman pinscher named Chili, was unaffected.

Despite just recently moving to Pittsburgh, the family’s son has become an avid Penguins fan and was most upset that the flood had damaged his Sidney Crosby Winter Classic jersey.

“The only thing that he complained about was, “Not my Penguins jersey!’” Gilbert said. “But they’re [Columbia Gas is] taking everything to get cleaned, our rug, his hats, everything.

“Hopefully, we’ll be back in good condition.”

Check back with the B-W Patch for updates, including more pictures as they come in.