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Burst Pipe Floods Franklin Wright Settlements’ Woodward Avenue Center, Forcing Closure

City crews have stopped the sprinkler-line flow, allowing an assessment of extensive first-floor and basement damage.

Overview

  • An alarm alerted staff around 3 a.m., and vice president Ahmad Nassar arrived to find water gushing from the building onto Woodward Avenue.
  • By about 6:30 a.m., the first floor had roughly a foot of water as it continued to push out through doors.
  • The shutoff valve was initially unreachable due to the surge, and firefighters could not access it, prompting a call for the water department to intervene.
  • Before the water was shut off, flooding had spread through nearly all areas of the first floor and the basement, and the Woodward site closed for the day.
  • The nonprofit’s programs serve hundreds of people, Youthville Detroit shares the facility, and other Franklin Wright locations will provide services during repairs.