Flooding from cut water pipe causes €3m damage to store

WORKERS who accidently severed a water pipe caused millions of euro worth of damage to one of Dublin’s landmark department stores yesterday.

The four-storey Brown Thomas building on Grafton Street was evacuated shortly before lunchtime after the ground floor was flooded.

Preliminary estimates put the extent of the damage to furnishings and stock at €3 million.

The midday drama sent shoppers scurrying and brought the busy city centre street to a standstill and a BT spokeswoman said: “There were a lot of people in the store, but thankfully we managed to evacuate staff and customers without incident.”

A spokesman for Dublin Fire Brigade said the incident occurred when workmen cut through a pipe they believed to be dry. Three units of the brigade dealt with the incident.

The dangerous buildings section of Dublin City Council inspected the building in order to determine the extent of the damage.

After getting the all-clear from Dublin Fire Brigade to re-enter the building management and staff began the mopping-up operation.

“The cosmetics hall bore the brunt of the damage,” a spokesperson for the store told journalists , as scores of people filed past the hastily erected garda cordon.

Initially, it had been thought it might be possible to reopen the store later in the day.

However, on a more detailed assessment of the water damage to furnishings and stocks, this had to be abandoned.

The incident occurred in a cordoned off area where construction work was taking place on a new section on the women’s fashion floor.

The new section, showcasing contemporary fashion, was due to be launched later this month.

Last night, a spokesperson confirmed the store would reopen this morning.