Senior activities at Framingham's Callahan Center have been paused. Here's why

Jesse Collings, MetroWest Daily News
·2 min read

FRAMINGHAM — Senior citizen activities at the Callahan Center have been put on pause after a pipe burst during last weekend's Arctic blast, officials said.

Grace O'Donnell, the city's Council on Aging director, said water damage was mostly confined to a small area of the Union Avenue building. However, it has led to the cancellation of all events there to accommodate cleanup efforts.

The real challenge for the Callahan Center is that the burst pipe was part of the building's fire suppression system. Until the system is up and running again, the building cannot host public events, as it would not be considered up to code for fire safety standards.

"As long as that system isn't functioning, we need to keep the public out of the building," O'Donnell said.

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The pipe burst was related to the sub-zero temperatures that impacted the area over the weekend, with temperatures sinking as low as minus-9 degrees Fahrenheit early Saturday.

All events at the Callahan Center were canceled on Monday. O'Donnell said the center must take its scheduling on a day-by-day basis, as it is unclear when the fire alarm company that manages the fire suppression system will be able to grant approval for the building to reopen.

Activities at the Callahan Center/Council on Aging building on Union Avenue in Framingham have been canceled until a pipe associated with the building's fire suppression pipe is fixed.
Activities at the Callahan Center/Council on Aging building on Union Avenue in Framingham have been canceled until a pipe associated with the building's fire suppression pipe is fixed.

She indicated officials were hopeful that a Tuesday fix would lead to a Wednesday reopening.

"The company that manages the system, they clearly have had other calls of similar nature happening," she said. "So we are waiting to hear when they are going to be able to come here and do an assessment of it, and let us know how long it will take before we can open to the public. We are on schedule to have our sprinkler system repaired on Tuesday, so we are hoping we will be able to determine if we can open on Wednesday."

The same issue occurred over the weekend at Medfield's Council on Aging building. That also led to a cancellation of events this week.

O'Donnell recommended that seniors interested in further updates check the city website or call the Callahan Center at 508-532-5980.

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Pipe burst at Callahan Center cancels Framingham senior activities