The Osoyoos Fire Department responded to an alarm at Desert Surfside on Friday night. (Vanessa Broadbent / Osoyoos Times)
By Vanessa Broadbent
Osoyoos Times
What was thought to be an explosion at Desert Surfside Waterfront Accommodations turned out to be an “odd call” for the Osoyoos Fire Department late Friday night.
Shortly after 11 p.m., fire chief Ryan McCaskill responded to an alarm at the motel on Main Street.
“When I got there, there were about 10 people outside saying there was an explosion towards the roof,” he said. “So I called for a second page out to get guys to do a proper walk through and clear the building.”
There was no sign of a fire, but the alarm panel showed the sprinkler system had been activated, McCaskill said.
“With the alarm panel showing the sprinkler, then you’re worried maybe one of the sprinkler heads blew and you have a major water leak coming somewhere.”
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The building has a dry sprinkler system (meaning there is no water held in the overhead piping), and firefighters discovered that the system’s “bladder,” which keeps the water back from surging into the system, blew.
The explosion that the occupants heard was the sprinkler system lines all simultaneously filling with water throughout the entire building.
“They all would have heard the same thing at the same time, and it was just the system charging full of water,” McCaskill said.
This was the first call of its nature the fire department has responded to, McCaskill said.
“We don’t have too many dry systems in town, they’re usually wet, so having a bladder blow and make that noise . . . it was a very odd call.”
