The man wrapped some clothing around the pipe to keep the water from spraying.

PARIS – An electrician working on rewiring the Oxford County Superior Court building was treated for symptoms of hypothermia after a sprinkler pipe broke in the basement Wednesday, causing a minor flood.

Paris Fire Chief Bradley Frost said the electrician, whose name was not available, got soaked when icy cold water rushed out at high pressure from an inch-wide hole in the major water supply line.

The man, who works for Deblois Electric of Lewiston, wrapped some clothing around the pipe to try to keep the water from spraying onto nearby electrical panels, Frost said. While the panels did get wet, his efforts definitely made a difference, Frost added.

The man was transported by PACE Ambulance Service to Stephens Memorial Hospital for treatment. The Paris Fire Department responded after fire alarms went off when the pipe broke at around 9:30 a.m.

The Paris Water District was immediately called to shut off the water, while on the first floor above the break, in the district attorney’s office, computers were shut down as a precaution.

“It created a very scary situation,” said county Administrative Assistant Carole Mahoney. “The pressure (of the water coming out) was unbelievable,” she said.

Deblois is nearly finished its work on completely rewiring all offices in the courthouse, including new lighting and a fire alarm system, Mahoney said.


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