Water issues forces Four Oaks to cancel after-school program

An after-school program will not be held today or Tuesday at a Four Oaks site after a sprinkler line burst and caused water damage over the weekend.

The Four Oaks Bridge neighborhood center, 2100 First Ave. NE, is closed after the leak was discovered around 4 p.m. Sunday. Four Oaks spokeswoman Liz Mathis said workers determined a sprinkler head failed, causing water to shoot into the attic for about 40 minutes.

Water seeped down from the attic, causing insulation and drywall damage to four or five rooms, Mathis said. She said the leak was found high above the men's restroom on the second floor.

“It was enough (water) to create havoc,” Mathis said.

When the leak started, it triggered an alarm in the attic. The alarm company notified Four Oaks staff and the Cedar Rapids Fire Department.

The water was about a half-inch deep in some places when they arrived, Mathis said. Two bathrooms, conference rooms and some office spaces sustained damage, but no computers or office materials were damaged, she said.

Fans were in place Monday and electricians and plumbers were working at the facility. A dollar estimate on the damage has not been determined, Mathis said.

Sixty children in Kindergarten through sixth grade attend the after-school program. Offices for the Junior League and community meeting rooms are also housed there.

“When you have little kids there, you definitely need a bathroom, so that's primarily the reason why we closed,” Mathis said.