HALLOWELL — Police are investigating a broken sprinkler head that flooded the arcade room in the Bank of Maine Ice Vault during a junior hockey game Friday night, leading to the ice arena being evacuated.

Assistant Fire Chief Jeff Thompson, of the Hallowell Fire Department, said the water from the sprinkler probably caused about $20,000 to $25,000 worth of damage.

Additional Photos

Staff photo by Joe Phelan Two men run vacuums to pull water out of the carpet in the first floor Kennebec Skate Shop after a sprinkler head broke on the second floor on Friday January 24, 2014 and water poured down onto the first floor of Bank of Maine Ice Vault in Hallowell. Most of the skates, helmets, sticks and other products had to be cleared out of shop to vacuum floors, The sprinkler head broke just before the start of second period hockey game between the home team Maine Moose Juniors and the Junior Mariners, a team from Salem, NH,

Staff photo by Joe Phelan Drew Glasheen looks to see if any water is still dripping onto first floor ceiling as he and other rink workers cleam up after a sprinkler head broke on the second floor on Friday January 24, 2014 and water poured down onto the first floor of Bank of Maine Ice Vault in Hallowell. The sprinkler head broke just before the start of second period hockey game between the home team Maine Moose Juniors and the Junior Mariners, a team from Salem, NH,

Thompson said juveniles were in the area of the sprinkler when it activated, and the Hallowell Police Department is investigating the incident, which occurred about 7:15 p.m. Friday.

Hallowell and Augusta’s fire departments responded.

The crowd at the Maine Moose junior hockey team game was evacuated, Thompson said. They were let back in to collect their belongings after it was determined to not be a safety problem, he said.

Events for the rest of the night were cancelled.

Thompson said a cleaning firm was called in to try to get the ice arena ready for events Saturday.

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