It is one thing to take part in the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. It is another thing to be an unwilling participant in this winter’s version of that charity challenge, when frozen pipes break and send a deluge of icy water over household possessions. The unusually cold weather that has refused to lift itself off of New England since January has increased the threat of pipes freezing and bursting. Even thoughtful preparation does not always guarantee that homeowners will avoid an unpleasant winter weather experience.

Newtown resident Loree Ogan, owner of Loree’s Catering in Bethel, returned home on Super Bowl Sunday, February 1, from a three-week respite in warmer climes. She expected her hometown to feel cold. She did not, however, expect the inside of her house to feel colder than the near freezing temperatures outside.

“The minute I walked in the back door and realized it was colder in than out, I knew I had a problem,” Ms Ogan recalled. She had heard, while away, that there had been a power outage and had called her neighbor. Her exterior lights were back on, she was told, so she did not worry.

She had also arranged for someone to stop by the house and check on things periodically, and had left a trickle of water running in the laundry room sink and bathtub. It is a practice recommended by professionals to prevent pipes from freezing.

That the boiler on her furnace would not come back on after the power outage did not cross her mind. It was back to Maui sunsets and San Francisco sightseeing, with only a plan of settling in to watch the New England Patriots take on the Seattle Seahawks for the night she returned.

The catering business is one that requires swift problem solving, a skill that Ms Ogan feels was valuable when she recognized her home situation as being very serious.

“I knew I had to act quickly. I did blank on my HVAC guy’s name, and didn’t have it in my phone, but I immediately dashed over to my business for his number. He found me a plumber who could pull himself away from the [Super Bowl] and come over,” she said.

Back home, she ventured further into the house and could see that it was far more than a lack of heat with which she would have to contend.

“The tabletop was glistening in the dining room, and I realized that there was a layer of ice on it,” Ms Ogan said. Not only that, tiny stalagmites were growing up from the surface. Looking up, she could see water stains on the ceiling.

As she walked upstairs, it became painfully cold. In the bedroom located just over the dining room, the carpet was crisp with ice. It was clear to her that pipes there had frozen while she was away and one of them had, at some point, thawed just enough for water to leak and seep through the floor to the room below. Nothing was leaking at the time, she said, because “I think it was probably 22 degrees in that bedroom when I got home.”

Waiting for the plumber, she shoved the dining room table away from the affected area, dried it, and covered it with a tarp.

The plumber arrived and confirmed that the water in all of the pipes in the interior baseboard had frozen. He restarted the furnace, cautioning her that more breaks might become apparent. When frozen pipes begin to thaw, the true damage begins. Any cracks caused by the expansion of frozen water in the pipes begin to spew water.

“Around 11:30 pm, I was sitting in the living room, and I heard it start raining in the dining room,” said Ms Ogan. In just the few minutes it took her to dash downstairs and turn off the furnace and shut off the main water supply, more damage was done.

“I’ve lived here since 1985, and I’ve never had anything like this happen before,” she said. It was a long, chilly night.

The next day Pete Wlasuk, of Pete’s Plumbing in Newtown, found four more breaks. If those thumbnail-sized cracks had thawed before she came home, she was told, it would have destroyed the whole house.

As it is, damages will amount to between $30,000 and $40,00. Carpeting and hardwood flooring in the upstairs bedroom must be replaced, and the ceilings above the dining room and in the kitchen where the plumber had to open it up to trace the leaks have to be replaced. Dining room chairs with antique needlepoint seats were ruined, as well as the surface of the table. An Oriental rug beneath the dining room table was sent out for cleaning, but it was not successful.

Dealing with insurance adjusters and contractors is time consuming, said Ms Ogan, but repairs are underway. Mr Wlasuk has also placed antifreeze in the repaired line for the baseboard force hot water system, a practice that he said was becoming more common in cold regions.

Ms Ogan has taken away a few lessons as she meets this challenge, as well. Keeping a cool composure in an emergency is essential, she said. She has also learned to be specific on what she needs from anyone watching the house while she is away. Choose a trusted neighbor who is in walking distance.

“I don’t know why, but my friend apparently did not go through the house enough to notice the problem. The plants in the dining room were frozen. Every room should be checked when whoever is watching your house stops by. Upstairs rooms should especially be checked,” she suggested. Make sure that the house is looked into daily in cold weather, and any temperature changes reported.

Report the incident to the insurance carrier immediately. Even on a weekend, the insurance company can begin the claim process, she said.

“And,” Ms Ogan said, “keep plumber and electrician information close at hand.”