Here is a new one. I received a call this AM to rush home. Why? The fire alarm in our building was set off by a burst pipe. It turns out the condo unit next to me had a pipe burst causing some water damage. Fortunately, for me, damage was minimal. There was some water seepage into my attached garage and a little bit at the north west corner of my basement. He bore the brunt with water in his garage and basement. I had visions of everything being trashed. Thank God-- it was not the case. Knowing my neighbor--he probably kept his heat low to save on heating bills. It's a sure-fire way to freeze pipes at the temps we have seen.
This is the second time he's had water damage. The first time was when he hired some schmo to fix a sprinkler head. The einstein used a torch to loosen the sprinkler head. Hmm. Fire--sprinkler head--catastrophe. Every sprinkler head in his condo went off. The upstairs, ground floor, basement, and garage. The main water shut off was in another unit, and the owners were not home. Two hours later the FD broke into that unit and turned off the water. Joe Schmo had to gut the place from all the water damage.
Sigh.