T-R PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY The dine-in area of the Burger King located at 2605 S. Center St. has been closed since Tuesday afternoon, when a pipe broke and spilled water across the interior of the fast food restaurant.

A video posted on Facebook and shared with the Times-Republican showed a water pipe bursting and spilling near the main entrance of the Marshalltown Burger King at 2605 S. Center St. on Tuesday afternoon.

While the dine-in area of the restaurant was closed, the drive-thru remained open for the remainder of the day and into Wednesday until about 3 p.m. Dennis Mills, who serves as the regional vice president of operations for Burger King franchisee Tasty King LLC, said the Marshalltown location had dealt with a broken pipe on Christmas Eve when temperatures dipped well below zero, but the issue was quickly addressed and fixed at the time. On Tuesday, by contrast, temperatures were closer to 30 degrees.

A representative from the Iowa Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) said the agency was aware of the video as of Wednesday morning but did not yet know of any specific follow-up plans. Mills said the fire marshal had already visited the site, and he has also been in contact with OSHA.

“(The fire marshal) came out and assessed the situation (and) basically said we can keep the store open through drive-thru, shut down the inside until we get it fixed or at least we get the appearance taken care of,” Mills said. “I’ve got somebody down there kind of assessing the situation.”

According to Mills, the company is also working with Blackhawk Automatic Sprinklers to fix the sprinkler line “ASAP” before putting fresh tile back in as well as a professional cleaning service to ensure the interior is ready to reopen.

“From our end, the fire marshal felt like we were gonna be doing whatever it took to make sure we have a healthy work environment,” he said.

Mills noted the building’s age and said the long-term plan was to either renovate it or rebuild at some point in the future as it is currently on the franchise’s remodel list. The Marshalltown Burger King is estimated to employ about 20 people currently, and Mills commended Maureen Graves, who serves as general manager of the location, for doing “what’s right for the guests and right for the business.”

“She did right by communicating with us. I mean obviously, it was a little hectic and stressful for her yesterday, and it always is when you’re put in a situation like that,” Mills said.

The restaurant was closed completely on Wednesday afternoon, and Mills indicated that the plan is to reopen as soon as possible. Roofers were on their way to the site to work on the problems.