The Peoria Fire Department is unsure when the Chase Bank building in downtown Peoria will reopen after a water main leak that damaged the fire suppression system.
Peoria Fire Chief Shawn Sollberger said the department was alerted of the water leak at 4 p.m. Thursday. He said the department, the City of Peoria, and the building's management are conducting a study to determine the full extent of the damage.
Sollberger said the water main leak damaged the building's sprinkler system. The building's fire alarm system was already down, though the owners were working to fix it.
"What we're dealing with, and this is not unique to this address either, is that you have two levels to your fire protection systems, you have your alarm, and you have your sprinkler system, one of which can be down," Sollberger said. "And that's a regular event throughout businesses."
When the water leak damaged the sprinkler system, Sollberger said the fire department had to close the building, adding they're hoping to get one of the systems back online so the building can be reopened.
"We know that the water leak has been mitigated, meaning that the break itself, it's been isolated," he said. "And now we're just working on helping the company with maintenance and repairs. And when we say that, that's just staff working with whoever is going to be doing those efforts to try to get them back online."
The 20-story building, located at 111/125 NE Jefferson St., has offices rented out to other companies.
Joe Dulin, director of Community Development for the City of Peoria, said they'll check for water damage, including mold, but that the water leak itself wasn't severe enough to close the entire building.
He said water leaks are common this time of year, as pipes thawing during the spring can cause these issues.
The Peoria Fire Department will release more information as it becomes available.
