Another week and another flurry of emergency call-outs caused by watery problems. First up we had a call from a well-known hotel chain in Southampton to attend their site and disconnect some lights affected by a flood. They may have failed to mention what the flood consisted of, and where it was, as this may have diminished Neil’s enthusiasm for involvement somewhat. The toilets on the second floors had become blocked and a local drainage company had been on site trying to resolve the problem. Sadly (for everyone!) their actions had led to an end cap being blown off the sewage main drain above the ceiling of the ground floor gents toilet! The result was that the sewage hit the ceiling with such force that it brought the ceiling and lights crashing to the floor. We cannot repeat the phrase used by the receptionist when alerting the duty manager to the problem… but it was along the lines of “there’s ‘waste’ EVERYWHERE”. Luckily upon Neil’s arrival things were looking and smelling a little cleaner and he managed to disconnect the damaged lights, make the area electrically safe and escape fairly unscathed.
The next watery tale involves an early morning phone call from the manager of the same establishment to tell us that there was another flood, but this time in a different area of the property! This flood had done more damage, but luckily seemed to consist mainly of shower water. So more lights disconnected and the area made safe for guests and staff. We have now renamed that hotel Fawlty Towers, and hope that their luck improves for the rest of the summer.
