A St. John’s retailer’s business is on hold as it mops up after flooding that occurred during the Christmas holidays. In an ironic twist of names, Attica – a chic furniture and housewares retailer – is actually located on the ground floor of 152 Water Street.

Dana Lambert said damage to the store was extensive. Somewhere between Christmas Eve and Dec. 27, a third-floor hot water boiler malfunctioned, causing water to flow constantly for what Lambert said was at least two days.

“The hoses, I guess, let go or exploded or something, because of the holidays and everything being closed, the pipes never got turned off until we came in on the 27th,” said Lambert, Attica’s manager. “By that time, there was water everywhere, just like it had rained in the store. We’ve got a good chunk of stuff gone.”

She said the water boiler serviced the building. When contacted by the Telegram, Cory Tucker of Reb Holdings Inc., the company that owns the building, acknowledged there were problems with the boiler, but refused further comment.

The water ran down through the lower levels of the building, which also houses Infotel, Reb offices and House of Gifts. The Cellar Restaurant, located on the fourth floor, was not damaged by the flooding.

Lambert said damage at Attica was in the range of hundreds of thousands of dollars. “In furniture, I’d say we’ve lost 10 per cent, and that’s probably being generous,” she said. “We had a full, 4000 square foot showroom and we’re pretty much wiped out. Small giftware never got touched with just the way the water was flowing. There were spots where there was a foot of water and other spots with more. We’re still digging out – a week later. The damage every day is accumulating – not realizing how much our loading room got flooded, which was filled with stock that had come in on Christmas Eve.”

Lambert said the water seeped into tile flooring and shorted out lighting systems. She said safety is a priority before the store can reopen. “We don’t want to open our doors until we know it’s 100 per cent safe to do so. We’ve got electricians working on the lighting and to make sure the pipes are safe and there’s no more water coming in from anywhere.”

The Christmas incident was the second time Attica experienced flooding in 2004. In September, Lambert said, vandals entered the building and overflowed the sinks in a second-floor public washroom. The water made its way to Attica’s stock room, ruining some merchandise, but Lambert said September’s flood does not compare to the damage done by December’s incident.

Stock is being inspected by Attica’s insurance company, and Lambert isn’t sure if any of it can be salvaged. “We’re insured because this was through no fault of our own and it was within the building,” she said. “We don’t have the full story from the owners of the building yet, just that it was a hot water boiler on the third floor.”

Attica is not considering legal action, Lambert said, because the incident was not a result of negligence. She said the process of removing water and replacing pipes could be lengthy. “We’re hoping by the end of this month to be open again, but that’s probably a stretch,” Lambert said. “It’s in the hands of other people now, so that’s kind of frustrating. We’re still finding our stuff and there’s stuff we haven’t gotten to yet. We’re trying to clear space because it all has to be repainted and cleaned. It like reopening the store from scratch.”

Bradley Bouzane, The Telegram, Wednesday, January 05, 2005