(Posted 8 a.m., Feb. 3)
The beat goes on at Orléans music academy despite flood
By Fred Sherwin
Orléans Online

Eric's Academy of Music owner Eric St. Cyr sits in his abandoned studio after it was flooded by a broken pipe early Sunday morning. Fred Sherwin/Photo

It's been a rough week for Eric's Academy of Music owner Eric St. Cyr and it's only Wednesday. At around 4:30 a.m. Sunday morning he got a call from his receptionist saying that he needed to get down to his Orleans Garden location as soon as possible, a burst pipe had flooded the studio.

Not knowing the extent of the propblem, he jumped in his car and drove over as quickly as he could. When he arrived saw a police car and several fire trucks with their lights flashing. The glass in the front door had been broken and the enitre floor was submerged under six inches of water.

Firefighters used an axe to break a hole in a partition wall to reveal a burst pipe that was gushing water into the academy. When they finally located the shut-off valve the damage had already been done. Thousands of dollars in equipment had been ruined beyond repair and at least three feet of the interior walls needed to be replaced.

"I had no idea what to expect. When I got there I couldn't believe it. There was water everywhere. It was coming out of the pipe like you would be filling up your bath tub," says St. Cyr.

Fortunately, the young entrepreneur is fully insured, so the equipment can be replaced. That's the good news. The bad news is that the studio is no longer usable and will require a good deal of work before it can be reopened.

Within hours after the flood, St. Cyr issued an update on Facebook explaining that the academy was temporarily closed until further notice. At the same time, he was talking to his landlord about using a vacant store front two doors down while the repairs are carried out. The landord agreed and by Tuesday afternoon, the Academy was back in business, although at a very limited capacity.

St. Cyr can't believe the support he's received from his instructors, students and parents who have so far taken the flood and the temporary relocation in stride.

"Everybody has been pitching in and trying to help out. Most of our staff have been with us from the beginning and they are very proud of what we've managed to build together, so they take this situation personally," says St. Cyr, "and our students have been very understanding."

"We're not sure how long the work will take. It could be two to four week, so we're doing our best to make sure that everyone who has lessons can still come in. If you miss a month it would be like starting all over again, so we really want to keep the lessons going."

(This story was made possible thanks to thie generous support of our local business partners.)

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