WILKES-BARRE -- A water main that broke in Wilkes-Barre has ended up doing quite a bit of damage to a charity that helps women enter the work force.
The charity "Dress for Success" hopes it is successful after becoming waterlogged.
It wasn't the water main break itself that flooded the Dress for Success location in Wilkes-Barre but the broken main outside which caused a water heater inside to burst, and that meant a lot of damage, and a lot of ruined clothes supposed to help women looking for work.
Volunteers used snow shovels to help scoop up soggy ceiling tiles piled on the floor inside Dress for Success in Wilkes-Barre.
Water poured into the charity overnight, soaking and damaging racks and racks of business clothes meant to help women in need looking for work.
Boxes of jewelry were left floating in water.
"To come in and see our dreams destroyed, it's a nightmare here today," said Linda Armstrong.
When director Linda Armstrong left work, she knew about the water main break outside on West Market Street, but didn't think it would impact her organization.
She returned in the morning to find the mess.
"It was just a disaster when we walked in today."
The water main break outside started the problem because muddy water from that ended up in the water heater upstairs. It burst and water came pouring down, making a mess.
And this place prides itself in providing high end, quality used clothing to help build women's confidence when applying for jobs.
The trouble is, it's all dry-clean only, and Armstrong says that's too much of a cost for all the now dirty donated clothing.
"This is great stuff, this is immaculate, it was kept well and now we're going to have to find another way to get more."
While she'll need some new clothing, it didn't take long to get some help cleaning up the mess.
"Her organization does such great things to get women back on their feet. I thought I could help get Linda and her group back on her feet," said neighbor Tony Brooks.
"This isn't going to put us out, we can't allow it, there are too many people who need us," Armstrong added.
The head of Dress for Success says there was no insurance because it's all used clothing. She's hoping maybe the landlord's insurance can help with the structural damage, maybe more.
