The extreme cold felt over the holiday weekend burst a pipe at Children’s Home of Northern Kentucky (CHNK) Behavioral Health, flooding four floors and causing damage that officials said could take months to undo.
When the Greater Cincinnati region experience sub-zero temperatures over Dec. 24 and 25, Children’s Home of Northern Kentucky (CHNK) Behavioral Health “suffered serious property damage in the historic administration building at the main campus due to a ruptured water pipe,” according to a press release from the organization.
Housekeeping crews contracted with the children’s home notified CHNK officials of the damage on Dec. 26. Officials noted collapsed ceilings on multiple floors, and damage to flooring and various furnishings due to the flooding. Personnel housed in the 34,000-square-foot center relocated to CHNK’s other two campuses and to various residential buildings while others are working remotely. They added that the blizzard temperatures also affected multiple painted walls inside the building, with significant plaster cracks and interior paint “peeling in sheets from the walls.”
The now-damaged building is home to instructional space used by Covington Independent Public Schools in conjunction with CHNK Behavioral Health. CHNK said the campus serves hundreds of students who need specific treatment for a wide range of mental and behavioral health issues, though no students or faculty were present in the structure during the incident due to the holiday break. The building is also used for food preparation and dining services, medical services, and large event gatherings in addition to administrative offices and treatment services.
“The ruptured pipe … caused flooding on all four floors of the building, which houses a wide spectrum of treatment and administrative spaces serving abused, neglected, traumatized, and at-risk youth and families” throughout the region, the press release stated.
Officials said the headquarters, which is where the ruptured pipe was located, plays a major role in the operation of all three CHNK Northern Kentucky locations.
The building was closed Dec. 26 through 28 so that emergency cleanup efforts could begin.
