News & Views, Volume 12, Number 2, February 1990 Page: 4
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A Christmas flood at the Central Office
Brown-Heatly Building drenched
by 28,000 gallons of waterOn Christmas Eve, a fire sen-
sor sounded alerting the Brown-
Heatly Building engineering staff
that something was wrong at
TRC's Central Office.
The fire department was called
and quickly investigated. Instead
of smoke and flames, they found
a broken main water valve on the
third floor pumping thousands of
gallons of water onto the floor
and down through the
walls to the first floor of
the west wing.
Before power could be
shut down, an estimated
28,000 gallons of water
drenched the first three
floors of the six-month-
old building.
Response to the dis-
aster was swift and effec-
tive.
The State Purchasing and
General Services Commission,
the building landlord for TRC
and the Texas Youth Commis-
sion, began drying out operations
and emergency repair immediate-
ly ... on Christmas Day.
Also on Christmas, many
Central Office managers came in
to check carpet, wall and equip-
ment damage to their office
areas. Several Automated Ser-
vices Division employees gave up
their holiday to secure computer
operations and make sure service
to the field would not be inter-
rupted.
"Not one client missed ser-
vices; not one service was
delayed by the disaster," says
Commissioner Arrell. "It speaks
well of TRC and State Purchasing
to take such immediate and posi-
tive action."
"Disaster has a way of bringing
out the best in people. This was
no exception," says ExecutiveDeputy Commissioner James L.
Jackson.
According to John Morgan,
recovery manager for the Brown-
Heatly Building, cleanup and
repair operations on the building
structure are continuing. "The
walls and floors are holding
water which is still being
released. In this situation, gravity
is our worst enemy," he states.Gravity
was our
worst
enemy.Morgan pointed
out that moisture
in the walls and
flooring could
slowly corrode
hidden wiring.
The full extent of
this kind of
damage won't be
known for
months.At this writing, the exact cause
of the water valve break has not
been determined. State Purchas-
ing officials have, however, ruled
out breakage due to the freeze
and extremely cold weather in
Austin during Christmas week.
They now believe the leak may be
due to a malfunction in the
sprinkler system.
By January 2, TRC employees
returning to work after the
holidays reported to temporary
work spaces, equipped with com-
puters and telephones, arranged
for workers in the damaged of-
fices.
It was business as usual. But
not without extraordinary effort
on the part of many TRC
employees.I
f
Recovery operations after the Central Office
flood were greatly speeded up by the spe-
cial efforts of 40 TRC employees Their
efforts were recognized by James L.
Jackson, executive deputy commissioner,
and Dale Place, deputy commissioner for
administrative services, with plaques of
appreciation January 18. Jackson noted
one instance in particular when thousands
of books in the first-floor Library had to
be moved out of harm's way. "Volunteers
from purchasing, Staff Services and the
Warehouse pitched in and got the job done
in short order. This is just one of numerous
examples of our employees' willingness to
help each other. I'm proud of that attitude!"
says Jackson. Here Jim Shaw, warehouse
supervisor, helps restock the Library shel-
ves.4 TRC News & Views
February 1990
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Texas Rehabilitation Commission. News & Views, Volume 12, Number 2, February 1990, periodical, February 1990; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1032308/m1/4/?q=Lamar+University: accessed June 12, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.