A burst pipe discovered Sunday has caused the Butler Meals on Wheels program to stop deliveries for at least a week.

The pipe burst sometime over the weekend in the basement ceiling of St. Peter's Anglican Church on East Jefferson Street, where the program has its headquarters, said Mary Pataky, director of the Butler County Meals on Wheels.

The program serves about 105 people in the Butler area who are recuperating from illness or who suffer impaired functional ability.

Each client or their family confirmed Monday that they will be OK until service can resume Jan. 8, Pataky said, though she plans to check on several people midweek.

“Some of these people don't have family in the area and they don't have anyone checking on them besides us,” Pataky said.

The Butler County Area Agency on Aging had offered to provide free frozen meals, but Pataky said she did not need to refer anyone to them yet.

Pataky said she hopes to resume packing and delivering meals on Jan. 8.

The pipe was in the basement ceiling and flooded the offices with hot water, damaging everything including dry food, paper products, office supplies, furniture, printers and other electronics and the floor and walls. The program's computers were locked in a cabinet and were not damaged, Pataky said. The kitchen also was not damaged and the canned goods might be salvageable, she said.

“Everything in there just took a hard hit from the water,” Pataky said.

She said the program is setting up a temporary office in another room in the church. The Sunday school classroom and other rooms in the church's basement were not damaged.

A similar incident with a burst pipe happened to the Meals on Wheels program in 2008, in the same church.

The staff worked on cleaning up the office on Sunday and Monday and hired a restoration company, which brought in industrial-sized fans and heaters.

The program filed a claim with its insurance carrier, but Pataky said she had not talked with a claims adjuster yet. The church also was planning to file a claim through its insurance provider.

The program serves an 8-mile radius in the city and surrounding area. Volunteers deliver the meals on about 12 routes Monday through Friday around lunchtime.

Each client receives a hot meal and can optionally get a cold sandwich meal too. Meals are delivered on weekdays except on Christmas and Thanksgiving.

The service is fully funded by donations from the community. For more information about the program, call 724-285-3815.