A sign on the door of the Ramada Inn on Pleasant Street in Lewiston says Tuesday that the building has been condemned by the city because a water pipe that feeds the fire suppression system burst, flooding the conference center and the former restaurant area. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

LEWISTON — The Ramada Inn has been condemned by the city again after a series of events stemming from a broken HVAC system led to a burst pipe.

The condemnation order was posted Jan. 24 and there are no residents in the building at 490 Pleasant St.

On Friday, Ramada’s fire suppression system notified the Fire Department about low temperatures in the pipe that could cause the water to freeze, according to Planning and Code Enforcement Director Jon Connor. The hotel’s HVAC system heating its common areas was broken, however individual rooms remained with heat.

When the Fire Department visited the hotel Friday it was determined that because the fire suppression pipe was at risk of freezing the building needed to be condemned for safety reasons, he said. On Sunday that low temperature sensor was still alerting the Fire Department.

The Fire Department was called to the hotel around 4 p.m. and found a frozen pipe had burst. It was the pipe that feeds water into the fire suppression system, Connor said. Water flooded the conference center, as well as the former restaurant area. Because of electrical damage, power to the building was shut off.

At this time it is unclear when work on the hotel will be completed and the condemnation order lifted, he said. It will likely take several days if not weeks to fix the damage and broken HVAC system before power will be turned on.

An electrician hired by the hotel owner has been in contact with city officials and has pulled permits for electric work that needs to be done.

It is the second time in less than a year the hotel has been issued a condemnation order by the city. Last spring, an inspection found there were several maintenance violations, with the worst being a failing fire alarm system.

The city lifted that order later that month after the fire alarm system was updated and inspected by Eastern Fire, as reported to the city.

In August 2023, it housed asylum seekers for the city of Portland for a couple of months, with the last family moving out in December of that year. Lewiston Housing previously considered buying the hotel for transitional housing but those plans fizzled out in 2023.

The city is working with the hotel on the latest issue to ensure that it becomes compliant with all codes again because the city needs businesses like it, but the city’s top priority is the health and safety of the hotel’s guests and the public, Connor said.

“The Ramada has an uphill climb,” he said. “They’ve got some issues right now, but we, as the city, are working with them, we want to see them succeed. We want them to come back into compliance and be a thriving business in our community.”

Ramada officials did not immediately respond to requests for an interview or comment by late afternoon Tuesday.