{"id":114584,"date":"2024-01-29T11:06:49","date_gmt":"2024-01-29T16:06:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/?p=114584"},"modified":"2025-03-25T15:44:51","modified_gmt":"2025-03-25T19:44:51","slug":"above-water","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/above-water\/","title":{"rendered":"Keeping Our Heads Above Water"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A flood hits the VA&#8217;s history collection<\/h2>\n\n\n<style>.kb-image114584_81a586-42 .kb-image-has-overlay:after{opacity:0.3;}.kb-image114584_81a586-42 img.kb-img, .kb-image114584_81a586-42 .kb-img img{border-top:1px solid #000000;border-right:1px solid #000000;border-bottom:1px solid #000000;border-left:1px solid #000000;}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.kb-image114584_81a586-42 img.kb-img, .kb-image114584_81a586-42 .kb-img img{border-top:1px solid #000000;border-right:1px solid #000000;border-bottom:1px solid #000000;border-left:1px solid #000000;}}@media all and (max-width: 767px){.kb-image114584_81a586-42 img.kb-img, .kb-image114584_81a586-42 .kb-img img{border-top:1px solid #000000;border-right:1px solid #000000;border-bottom:1px solid #000000;border-left:1px solid #000000;}}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-image kb-image114584_81a586-42\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-medium\"><a href=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2024\/01\/CC012-Hallway.jpg\" class=\"kb-advanced-image-link\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"2448\" height=\"2440\" src=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2024\/01\/CC012-Hallway.jpg?w=600\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2024\/01\/CC012-Hallway.jpg?w=600\" alt=\"Main hallway in Building 401 after water remediation was completed. (NVAHC)\" class=\"lazyload kb-img wp-image-114587\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%272448%27%20height%3D%272440%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%202448%202440%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%272448%27%20height%3D%272440%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2024\/01\/CC012-Hallway.jpg?resize=300,300 300w, https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2024\/01\/CC012-Hallway.jpg?resize=600,598 600w, https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2024\/01\/CC012-Hallway.jpg?resize=768,765 768w, https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2024\/01\/CC012-Hallway.jpg?resize=1400,1395 1400w, https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2024\/01\/CC012-Hallway.jpg?resize=1536,1531 1536w, https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2024\/01\/CC012-Hallway.jpg 2448w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 2448px) 100vw, 2448px\" \/><\/a><figcaption>Main hallway in Building 401 after water remediation was completed. (NVAHC)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Picture it: Dayton, Ohio, two days after Christmas 2022. During that week, the temperature hovered between -9 and 10 above. I\u2019m just back from the barn, ensuring the horses are well blanketed and the heated water buckets are doing their job. Despite being on leave, my work phone was on the table, and I just had to sneak a peek. The iMessage banner doesn\u2019t bother me, figuring that it\u2019s a happy holidays text. Not exactly, it\u2019s Dayton VA Medical Center\u2019s (VAMC) Chief Engineer who is a long-time History Center supporter. \u201cCan you please call me?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is not a regular ask, so I called her immediately. It went to voicemail, but she called me back straight away, and I could tell she\u2019d been running. She and I have a well-established pattern of talking about our dogs first (shoutout to Paco!) and then getting on to the day&#8217;s business. That didn\u2019t happen this time; her words made my blood colder than the barn had been. \u201cA pipe burst in 401.\u201d I ignored the fact I was in cold weather bibs, had hay in random places, and was not terribly clean. I said, \u201cI\u2019m on my way.\u201d She gave me a better picture of what had happened, and to be honest, the next several days were a bit of a blur for many of us, including Engineering, Logistics, Environmental Management, and Contracting.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<style>.kb-image114584_c6c8c6-1c .kb-image-has-overlay:after{opacity:0.3;}.kb-image114584_c6c8c6-1c img.kb-img, .kb-image114584_c6c8c6-1c .kb-img img{border-top:1px solid #000000;border-right:1px solid #000000;border-bottom:1px solid #000000;border-left:1px solid #000000;}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.kb-image114584_c6c8c6-1c img.kb-img, .kb-image114584_c6c8c6-1c .kb-img img{border-top:1px solid #000000;border-right:1px solid #000000;border-bottom:1px solid #000000;border-left:1px solid #000000;}}@media all and (max-width: 767px){.kb-image114584_c6c8c6-1c img.kb-img, .kb-image114584_c6c8c6-1c .kb-img img{border-top:1px solid #000000;border-right:1px solid #000000;border-bottom:1px solid #000000;border-left:1px solid #000000;}}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-image kb-image114584_c6c8c6-1c\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-medium\"><a href=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2024\/01\/CC012-Exit-scaled.jpg\" class=\"kb-advanced-image-link\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" src=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2024\/01\/CC012-Exit-scaled.jpg?w=600\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2024\/01\/CC012-Exit-scaled.jpg?w=600\" alt=\"Location of burst pipe in ceiling. (NVAHC)\" class=\"lazyload kb-img wp-image-114586\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%272560%27%20height%3D%271920%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%202560%201920%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%272560%27%20height%3D%271920%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2024\/01\/CC012-Exit-scaled.jpg?resize=300,225 300w, https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2024\/01\/CC012-Exit-scaled.jpg?resize=600,450 600w, https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2024\/01\/CC012-Exit-scaled.jpg?resize=768,576 768w, https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2024\/01\/CC012-Exit-scaled.jpg?resize=1400,1050 1400w, https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2024\/01\/CC012-Exit-scaled.jpg?resize=1536,1152 1536w, https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2024\/01\/CC012-Exit-scaled.jpg 2560w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><\/a><figcaption>Location of burst pipe in ceiling. (NVAHC)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The burst pipe was on the first floor, and the collections were on the third floor. (Yes, I could have led with that, but it wouldn\u2019t have been nearly as good a journey to take you on!) However, the reception area, the conference room, the curator\u2019s office, and one section of the receiving room were decimated. The elevator to the third floor is in the middle of this same space, as well. The result was that the entire area was unsafe for us or the collections, and we had to move everything to the third floor as the first floor was now a construction zone. To make matters more interesting, by December 30, it was up to 61 degrees, meaning mold was now a very valid strategic concern. We spent several months figuring out remediation, including how we were going to continue to work, the impact on everyone even remotely involved, the financial implications, and what the long-term picture was going to be.<\/p>\n\n\n<style>.kb-image114584_6dd7f4-25 .kb-image-has-overlay:after{opacity:0.3;}.kb-image114584_6dd7f4-25 img.kb-img, .kb-image114584_6dd7f4-25 .kb-img img{border-top:1px solid #000000;border-right:1px solid #000000;border-bottom:1px solid #000000;border-left:1px solid #000000;}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.kb-image114584_6dd7f4-25 img.kb-img, .kb-image114584_6dd7f4-25 .kb-img img{border-top:1px solid #000000;border-right:1px solid #000000;border-bottom:1px solid #000000;border-left:1px solid #000000;}}@media all and (max-width: 767px){.kb-image114584_6dd7f4-25 img.kb-img, .kb-image114584_6dd7f4-25 .kb-img img{border-top:1px solid #000000;border-right:1px solid #000000;border-bottom:1px solid #000000;border-left:1px solid #000000;}}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-image kb-image114584_6dd7f4-25\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-medium\"><a href=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2024\/01\/CC012-Pallet-Jack.jpg\" class=\"kb-advanced-image-link\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1904\" height=\"2240\" src=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2024\/01\/CC012-Pallet-Jack.jpg?w=510\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2024\/01\/CC012-Pallet-Jack.jpg?w=510\" alt=\"Items from the collection that were being stored in Building 401 wrapped for movement to their new home, Building 126. Many of the older items are heavy, so significant effort was made to move one item at a time. (NVAHC)\" class=\"lazyload kb-img wp-image-114585\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%271904%27%20height%3D%272240%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%201904%202240%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%271904%27%20height%3D%272240%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2024\/01\/CC012-Pallet-Jack.jpg?resize=255,300 255w, https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2024\/01\/CC012-Pallet-Jack.jpg?resize=510,600 510w, https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2024\/01\/CC012-Pallet-Jack.jpg?resize=768,904 768w, https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2024\/01\/CC012-Pallet-Jack.jpg?resize=1190,1400 1190w, https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2024\/01\/CC012-Pallet-Jack.jpg?resize=1306,1536 1306w, https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2024\/01\/CC012-Pallet-Jack.jpg?resize=1741,2048 1741w, https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2024\/01\/CC012-Pallet-Jack.jpg 1904w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 1904px) 100vw, 1904px\" \/><\/a><figcaption>Items from the collection that were being stored in Building 401 wrapped for movement to their new home, Building 126. Many of the older items are heavy, so significant effort was made to move one item at a time. (NVAHC)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After a great deal of time, effort, and energy from many people, we moved from Building 401 to Building 126 in May 2023. This building change was previously discussed with VAMC leadership, but the pipe burst increased our urgency to find a new home.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It was a challenging way to start 2023. As we just observed the first anniversary, we are grateful to have been invited to make our home on the Dayton VAMC campus. The building is safe, the collections are safe, and so are we. Furthermore, we can thrive. With that, it\u2019s time to go to the barn.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Look for more on our move to building 126 in \u201cWe\u2019re Moving on Up\u201d in our next post.<\/p>\n\n\n<style>.kb-image114584_97591b-39 .kb-image-has-overlay:after{opacity:0.3;}.kb-image114584_97591b-39 img.kb-img, .kb-image114584_97591b-39 .kb-img img{border-top:1px solid #000000;border-right:1px solid #000000;border-bottom:1px solid #000000;border-left:1px solid #000000;}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.kb-image114584_97591b-39 img.kb-img, .kb-image114584_97591b-39 .kb-img img{border-top:1px solid #000000;border-right:1px solid #000000;border-bottom:1px solid #000000;border-left:1px solid #000000;}}@media all and (max-width: 767px){.kb-image114584_97591b-39 img.kb-img, .kb-image114584_97591b-39 .kb-img img{border-top:1px solid #000000;border-right:1px solid #000000;border-bottom:1px solid #000000;border-left:1px solid #000000;}}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-image kb-image114584_97591b-39\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-medium\"><a href=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2024\/01\/CC012-Outside.jpg\" class=\"kb-advanced-image-link\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"2082\" height=\"2048\" src=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2024\/01\/CC012-Outside.jpg?w=600\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2024\/01\/CC012-Outside.jpg?w=600\" alt=\"Collection items and artifacts are moved outside Building 401, and lifted by forklift to be put in a truck for the short drive to Building 126, where the process was repeated. (NVAHC)\" class=\"lazyload kb-img wp-image-114588\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%272082%27%20height%3D%272048%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%202082%202048%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%272082%27%20height%3D%272048%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2024\/01\/CC012-Outside.jpg?resize=300,295 300w, https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2024\/01\/CC012-Outside.jpg?resize=600,590 600w, https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2024\/01\/CC012-Outside.jpg?resize=768,755 768w, https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2024\/01\/CC012-Outside.jpg?resize=1400,1377 1400w, https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2024\/01\/CC012-Outside.jpg?resize=1536,1511 1536w, https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2024\/01\/CC012-Outside.jpg 2082w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 2082px) 100vw, 2082px\" \/><\/a><figcaption>Collection items and artifacts are moved outside Building 401, and lifted by forklift to be put in a truck for the short drive to Building 126, where the process was repeated. (NVAHC)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What do you do when a water line bursts in a building holding hundreds of historic artifacts and thousands of archive materials? You react quickly. When cold weather hit Dayton, Ohio in 2022, the building holding the VA History collection suffered a burst water pipe which could endanger everything. Our National VA History team responded and enacted a plan with Dayton VAMC leadership on how to save the items that are critical to telling VA&#8217;s Story. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":114587,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-114584","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-curator-corner","tag-national-va-history-center"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/above-water\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Keeping Our Heads Above Water","url":"http:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/above-water\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/above-water\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2024\/01\/CC012-Hallway.jpg?w=300","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2024\/01\/CC012-Hallway.jpg"},"articleSection":"Curator Corner","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Department of Veterans Affairs (smw)"}],"creator":["Department of Veterans Affairs (smw)"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"VA History","logo":""},"keywords":["national va history center"],"dateCreated":"2024-01-29T16:06:49Z","datePublished":"2024-01-29T16:06:49Z","dateModified":"2025-03-25T19:44:51Z"},"rendered":"<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"wp-parsely-metadata\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"headline\":\"Keeping Our Heads Above Water\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/department.va.gov\\\/history\\\/above-water\\\/\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/department.va.gov\\\/history\\\/above-water\\\/\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/department.va.gov\\\/history\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/10\\\/2024\\\/01\\\/CC012-Hallway.jpg?w=300\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/department.va.gov\\\/history\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/10\\\/2024\\\/01\\\/CC012-Hallway.jpg\"},\"articleSection\":\"Curator Corner\",\"author\":[{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"name\":\"Department of Veterans Affairs (smw)\"}],\"creator\":[\"Department of Veterans Affairs (smw)\"],\"publisher\":{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"name\":\"VA History\",\"logo\":\"\"},\"keywords\":[\"national va history center\"],\"dateCreated\":\"2024-01-29T16:06:49Z\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-01-29T16:06:49Z\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-25T19:44:51Z\"}<\/script>","tracker_url":"https:\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/department.va.gov\/p.js"},"meta_box":{"external_links":"1","endorsement":"0","subheading":"","featured_image_alt_text":"Main hallway in Building 401 after water remediation was completed. (NVAHC)","byline":"Robyn Rodgers","author_title":"Senior Archivist, National VA History Center","external_source":"","external_source_url":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114584","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114584"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114584\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":114589,"href":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114584\/revisions\/114589"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/114587"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114584"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114584"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114584"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}